Scream 7 (2026) * *

Directed by: Kevin Williamson

Starring: Neve Campbell, Joel McHale, Courteney Cox, Ethan Embry, Matthew Lillard, Isabel May, Mason Gooding, Sam Rechner, Anna CampCamp

Ghostface is back.  One day, I won't have to write those words, but as long as Scream movies continue to make money, there will be more Screams to be made.  Scream 7 feels by-the-numbers and uninspired.  There is always the whodunit aspect which keeps just enough interest to prevent the viewer from falling asleep, but the Scream movies have become a series of grisly killings which try to top the others in their blood and viciousness.  When you see someone's guts spilled out all over the place after a brutal kill, you realize Scream has lost its sense of fun.

Sidney Prescott (Campbell) returns to the franchise for the first time since Scream 4.  She lives with her police chief husband (McHale) and daughter Tatum (May) in a small town in an unnamed state and owns the local coffee shop.  Soon, after a loooong opening scene in which the Ghostface killer emerges, Sidney is contacted by someone proclaiming to be Stu (Lillard-who was killed in the first movie) and even calls her on FaceTime.  Is Stu really alive?  Or is this AI run amok?  And why do the people in these movies answer all calls from Unknown or Restricted callers?  If no one answered these calls, then the movies would screech to a halt.  

Now, one or more Ghostface killers are stalking and killing Sidney's loved ones and Tatum's friends.  Poor Sidney likely has enough PTSD to last three lifetimes and now has to go through it again.  No wonder she took two movies off.  Who could blame her?  And once the killer (or killers) is revealed, we realize that anyone who has more than 1-2 lines in the movie should be considered a suspect.  The explanation is ludicrous, as you would expect from someone who was only given a couple lines earlier in the film.  The Scream series has run out of gas and was only running on a half-tank to begin with.