A Scream movie without Sidney Prescott made about as much sense as Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, without the Bandit. In the latest installment, even a psychopathic killer admits you cannot have a Ghostface attack without Prescott. The married survivor of multiple slashings now goes by Sidney Prescott Evans, but whether she likes it or not (and she most definitely doesn’t), she is back in the Ghostface business. To right the listing franchise ship, both Neve Campbell and the original screenwriter, Kevin Williamson (also directing), return for Scream 7, which opens today in theaters.

Despite the exception of Scream (2022), fans understand whoever appears in the prologue probably has a shorter life expectancy than the average Red Shirt on Star Trek. This time around, Scott, the obsessive horror movie geek visiting a recreation of the murder house from the original Billy Loomis murders, almost begs for it. Yes, a new psycho dons the Ghostface mask, so we know they will inevitably start stalking Sidney Prescott.



Now married to local police chief Mark Evans, Prescott (yes, she’s an Evans, but everyone still thinks of her as “Sidney Prescott, the Woodsboro final girl”) is stiflingly protective of her teen daughter Tatum, whom she named after her late best friend, Tatum O’Reily (Rose McGowan), who was murdered way back in film #1. Not surprisingly, Prescott is instinctively distrustful of her daughter’s boyfriend, Ben Brown, who admittedly gives off ambiguously creepy, vaguely Skeet Ulrich-esque vibes.

Of course, Brown will be a suspect when the new Ghostface (seriously, we all expect there will be more than one, right?) starts killing Tatum’s friends. In addition to Roger L. Jackson’s classic “do you like scary movies” voice, the new Ghostface also taunts Prescott with video calls deep-faking Stu Macher, Loomis’s unhinged accomplice in the very first Scream. At least they assume it is a deep fake, but it becomes unsettlingly difficult to verify the final disposal of Macher’s body—so who knows?

Scream (2022) and Scream VI tried to transition away from the legacy cast in favor of a new group of younger, tangentially related characters. It might have cut costs, but the sixth film really should have carried a tagline disclaiming: “from the world of Scream.” As it happened, off-screen scandals hastened a necessary course correction. In any event, it is clear Sidney Prescott and Gayle Weathers always need to be in the thick of things.

However, Joel McHale fits in surprisingly well as Mark Evans. Perhaps counter-intuitively, he cranks down his signature snark, developing some appealing chemistry with Campbell. Elsa May (from the Yellowstone prequels) ages down convincingly as Tatum Evans. We can easily believe she is an annoying teen. Plus, daytime talk show host Mark Consuelos gets a lot of laughs in his small, but scene-stealing supporting role as local media hack, Robbie Rivers.



They represent positive additions, but most importantly, Campbell’s return brings back the fierce Sidney Prescott resilience fans have been missing. Frankly, her work in this film bears comparison with Jamie Leigh Curtis’s return as Laurie Strode in David Gordon Greene’s Halloween trilogy. She inspires instant audience confidence and provides a grounded, realistic center to the film. Likewise, Courteney Cox’s portrayal of Weathers remains as vain and sharp-elbowed, which is a very good thing. As usual, Cox gets some of the film’s best lines, which she fully capitalizes on. For further fan-service nostalgia, Matthw Lillard chews the scenery with maniacal delight as the Macher deep-fake—or maybe he truly is the real Macher.

Williamson, serving as both director and screenwriter, truly gets it. Repeatedly, characters admit to Prescott they just can’t do it without her. Indeed, several moments of Scream 7 feel like an implied apology to the fanbase, which is exactly the sort of self-awareness we expect from the franchise. Things are back on track. Enthusiastically recommended for fans of Scream 1-4 and the hip, ironic horror movies they inspired, Scream 7 opens today (2/27) in theaters nationwide.

Grade: A-

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Here’s the trailer of the film.