‘Scream VII’ slashes through theaters with mixed reactions

By Cadence Powers

Content Warning: This is a film that contains explicit violence, gore and language. Please keep in mind the rating when considering this film. 

A horror movie obsessed man and his girlfriend decided to stay in the house from his favorite horror movie. Inside the house includes police lines of where the bodies were, film posters for each of the films and a fully animatronic Ghostface, which includes a motion censor to follow the two with its eyes. The couple seems to be fighting and are not suspicious of the house around them. But something seems to lurk beneath the surface, and an uneasiness looms as the animatronic begins to move in a way it’s not supposed to. 

The newest iteration of the iconic satirical-horror series “Scream” brought back the horror and humor that envelopes the rest of the series. Following ‘Scream Queen’ Sydney Evans [Prescott] (Neve Campbell), the story follows its typical slasher film, with the “Scream” film’s extreme self-awareness. From characters who mention horror film tropes to characters being a “stereotypical” slasher character, the film functions as both a horror film and satire of the genre itself. 

The main character, Sydney, has been trying to live a normal life after facing several serial killers. Not featured in “Scream VI,” Sydney’s reappearance in the franchise sees her with her husband and daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), living in a small town, trying to live a normal life. Her other two children were with her in-laws, allowing for development and focus on the relationship between mother and eldest daughter. 

There are many other returning characters, as well as new ones. The characters’ pre-established relationships from previous films come through, but some of the new characters remain underdeveloped. Since these characters will not appear in future films for one reason or another, the film does not focus on developing the relationships of the supporting cast. 

Furthermore, as the film does not have a very long run-time, it does not choose to focus on the auxiliary characters. However, this causes the audience to not attach themselves to these characters or to really care for the relationships of these characters. Because of the focus on Sydney and her daughter’s relationship, many of the other characters get pushed to the side. Despite this, the characters that are focused on do have decently developed relationships and character growth throughout.

While you could technically watch Scream VII without the others, it does have many references and characters which the audience is expected to know before watching the film.“Scream VII,” like all “Scream” films, is deeply connected to the other films in the series. Characters recur and previously established relationships between them are built upon. References are pulled from previous films, mentioning character deaths and plot lines that relate.

All in all, the film was okay with its plot, characters and writing. The writing used every cliche it possibly could, the characters were self-aware and the plot being slightly predictable all added to the satirical tone of the film. Despite this, the film does feature a lot of darker content, especially related to violence. As a member of the franchise, it is similar to other films within “Scream” but it is nothing overly special and really only sets out to advance the larger plot of the franchise. Because of this, reactions to the film have also been mixed from fans, “Scream VII” being on the lower side of ratings and reviews for the film. 

Because of the nature of the film, I would advise wisdom when going to go see it. Given the context and content of the film, while I would maybe recommend it for fans of the series, I would recommend it only sparingly. I don’t think it’s my favorite in the series, but it was enjoyable for where the series is at.

“Scream VII” is now playing in Theaters.

Images Courtesy of Paramount Pictures 

Cadence Powers is a junior Professional Writing and Information Design Major. When not doing schoolwork she can best be found reading or writing.