Late to the Party: Watching Scream 7 was a better late than never situation

I love the Scream franchise. I can clearly remember the afternoon I first saw Scream back in December of 1996; I remember walking out of the theatre grinning from ear to ear, knowing that horror was back with a vengeance.

Scream was a unique horror movie in that it actually referenced horror movies as part of its plotline. It was brilliant, funny, gory, clever, and clearly written by someone who loved the genre, but wanted to shake it up a bit.

Scream hit really big, and sequels were released in 1997 and 2000 before taking a break. Scream 4 came in 2011, then there was another break before Scream (AKA Scream 5) opened in 2022 – this revitalized the franchise, and now we are awaiting details on Scream 8.

I saw the first six installments in a theatre, but missed Scream 7, so I was happy to watch it when it came to Paramount+. *Please be warned that slight spoilers will be discussed in this review.

Neve Campbell returned to the iconic roll of Sidney after skipping Scream 6 due to pay disputes, which was great for the movie. It made me happy, because I missed Sidney in Scream 6. I also was not a big fan of Melissa Barrera’s character of Sam (though I did like Jenna Ortega’s Tara), so that was a win/win for me.

Scream 7 brought back some beloved familiar faces

While the plotline for Scream 7 wasn’t anything groundbreaking, I absolutely loved how they brought Matthew Lillard back as Stu. And I was glad when it turned out to not actually be Stu, because that would have been a cop-out move. He was great in the role too, it allowed Lillard to play completely unhinged again.

And I also loved the brief returns of Dewey (David Arquette), Roman (Scott Foley), and Nancy (Laurie Metcalf) – it was a great way to pay homage without selling out. Campbell stepped right back into Sidney’s shoes without missing a beat.

I mostly enjoyed Scream 7, but I just didn’t buy that Sidney wouldn’t have taught her daughter (named Tatum, which was another brilliant callback) some self defense skills. It just didn’t track that she would instead try to “protect” Tatum by not being honest with her about her past.

Mindy and Chad are fun characters, but this was really Sid’s show, so I was glad they weren’t over-used, and Courteney Cox’s Gale made a welcome return.

Overall, I enjoyed the latest Scream film, and I look forward to seeing Scream 8.

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