I watched Scream for the first time when I was seven, peeking around a corner while my parents thought I was asleep. I’ve seen every Scream movie in theaters since, so yeah, I’m picky on purpose, and this Scream 7 review comes from someone who genuinely cares when the franchise gets it right.

Scream 7 brought back the nostalgic spark that made me fall in love with this franchise in the first place. It’s not perfect, and I have real issues with how the mystery ultimately pays off, but the overall ride hit harder than I expected, especially after how much the trailer seems to give away. I caught it on opening night, and it had that classic Scream push-and-pull: tense when it needs to be, funny when it earns it, and sharp enough to keep the theater locked in.

It also helps that Kevin Williamson is directing. You can feel the franchise DNA in the pacing and priorities. The movie puts Sidney back at the center, leans into small-town paranoia, and finds that familiar rhythm of dread, laughs, and sudden brutality. Even when a few pieces don’t fit perfectly, it still feels like Scream.

The Story and Setting

Scream 7 drops us back into Sidney Prescott’s world. This time, she’s trying to live like a person instead of a legend. Now going by Sidney Evans, she’s built a quieter life with her husband and kids in Pine Grove, Indiana. That calm does not last long. Ghostface shows up with a game built for Sidney’s new reality.

Small-Town Paranoia Works Again

The danger feels personal in a way Scream 6 couldn’t always match. This movie isn’t just about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone wants to rip apart Sidney’s home. The small-town setting does the heavy lifting. When the world is smaller, suspicion spreads faster. Every “normal” location starts to feel like a trap.

Sidney’s Family Adds Real Stakes

One of my favorite threads is Sidney trying to shield her family from her past. It makes sense for her. It also backfires. Silence isn’t safety. It leaves them unprepared when danger shows up anyway. It also creates tension at home because Sidney doesn’t want to talk about it. Watching that dynamic shift over the film gives the story real emotional weight.

I Wanted More Time with the Suspects

I do think the movie needed a little more time with some supporting characters. Tatum’s friends and a few neighbors could use more development. The suspect pool stays interesting, but the movie moves on before everyone fully clicks.

The Trailer Shows a Lot, but Not Everything

The trailer gives away some of the biggest set pieces. That worried me going in. In the theater, it played better than expected. Context changes how those moments hit. The movie also has enough extra scenes to keep surprises coming.

The Cast

The cast is a big reason this movie works.

Neve Campbell Grounds Sidney

Neve Campbell slips back into Sidney like she never left. Sidney still feels sharp and capable, but you also feel the weight she carries. That performance sells the movie’s biggest shift: Sidney isn’t just fighting to survive again, she’s fighting for the life she built. And the increased screen time is awesome, because it pulls the franchise back toward the first two entries, where Sidney’s perspective is the beating heart of the story.

Ghostface

Ghostface in person is awesome in Scream 7. The stalking feels sharper, the hunting is more intense, and the attack staging brings back that predator vibe. But Ghostface on the phone is a different story. Roger L. Jackson is still great, yet I missed the franchise’s darkly funny, razor-edged call moments. For example, Scream 4 gave us instantly quotable lines like “This isn’t f*cking Trevor!” and Scream 7 doesn’t really have a Ghostface who’s equal parts witty and menacing.

Gale Feels Like Gale

Courteney Cox is a huge plus here, too. Gale Weathers feels like Gale again. She’s confident, funny, stubborn, and still chasing the story. The movie also gives her vulnerability without softening her edge. The Sidney and Gale dynamic anchors the film once the mystery tightens.

Tatum and Mark

Isabel May brings a great mix of teen energy and survival instinct as Tatum. The movie lets her matter as more than a target. Even though she isn’t trained or prepared for what’s happening, she still makes smart choices the way you’d expect from Sidney’s daughter. It’s a nice touch, and it keeps the tension feeling earned instead of relying on dumb decisions just to move the plot along.

I’ll be honest, I was disappointed when it became clear Patrick Dempsey wasn’t coming back, and I was a little skeptical about Joel McHale stepping in. But McHale surprised me in the best way. He plays Sidney’s husband as a real counterweight to her shutting down. He grounds the home life, and he calls Sidney out when he needs to. That balance makes the family dynamic feel lived-in, not just written.

Chad and Mindy Hit the Right Balance

Chad and Mindy are handled really well. They’re funny, they still bring the “rules” energy, and they stay involved without feeling overused. Most importantly, they don’t pull focus from Sidney, Tatum, and Gale, which keeps the balance working for both legacy and newer fans.

The Suspect Pool Has Star Power

The movie also assembles a cast of recognizable faces. That helps muddy the suspect pool early. It throws scent off the trail better than casting choices that feel instantly obvious (like Jack Quaid). Even so, I still guessed one piece of the puzzle.

Music

Marco Beltrami’s return was a big win for Scream 7. He scored the first four films, and you can feel that familiarity right away. He even teased pieces of the score online, including cues titled “What’s in a Name” and “School Drama.”

The score also nods to classic Scream themes without turning into a pure greatest-hits replay. You’ll hear “Sidney’s Lament” woven back in, and there’s a fresh orchestral spin with “Mrs. Evans Lament,” which fits the movie’s focus on Sidney’s current life and the weight she carries now.

On top of the score, the film includes five original songs that match the mix of angst, aggression, and moodiness Scream always leans into. The lineup includes “Twisting the Knife” by Ice Nine Kills featuring Mckenna Grace, “Rearranging Scars” by Sueco, “Criminal” by Jessie Murph, “The Kill” by Stella Lefty, and “Creepin” by Don Toliver.

And yes, when The Red Right Hand hits during a curfew-style beat, it works. It brings back that eerie small-town dread from the earlier films. It’s the kind of moment that made me think, this is the vibe I’ve missed.

The Deepfakes

The deepfake angle is a smart modern update. A deepfake is AI-generated video or audio that makes it look and sound like a real person said or did something they never actually did. In the real world, it’s used for misinformation and manipulation. In Scream 7, it becomes a weapon. Ghostface uses it to blur what’s real, mess with Sidney’s head, and poison trust around her. It’s creepy, current, and it fuels the paranoia instead of feeling like a random gimmick.

It also plays into the way Scream knows its audience. The movie teases fans by leaning into legacy-character buzz, then uses deepfaked “appearances” to twist the knife, including Nancy Loomis, Stu Macher, Sidney’s half-brother, Roman, and Dewey. It’s a slick bit of franchise mind games because it hits two targets at once: it messes with Sidney’s reality, and it messes with our expectations as viewers.

The “Stu” deepfake is effective overall, and the vibe is right. A few bits of dialogue felt a little more modern than I expected, though. That could easily be a deliberate choice to keep you guessing, so I’m not calling it a flaw, just something I noticed.

The Reveal

This is the one area where Scream 7 stumbled for me.

I’m always trying to solve the mystery in real time, and this one didn’t fully reward that process. I clocked one piece early, but the final unmasking comes in a little too fast. In my theater, people started whispering because you could feel everyone trying to connect the how and why in the moment.

The reveal also leaves a couple of small logic gaps. Nothing ruins the movie, but it keeps the ending from feeling fully earned. I also love playing the “which Ghostface did what” game, like who’s in costume and who’s on the phone, and this time it’s harder to map cleanly because the movie doesn’t plant quite enough breadcrumbs along the way.

That said, I appreciate the swing. Scream 5 leaned into the whole “requel” idea on purpose, and Scream 6 followed that same playbook, so the echoes of Scream 1 and Scream 2 felt baked into the plan. I was relieved Scream 7 didn’t just default into a Scream 3-style blueprint with the killer setup, motive, and themes. It breaks the pattern, and I respect that. I just wanted a cleaner landing.

Final Verdict: Is Scream 7 Worth Seeing?

Yes. In this Scream 7 review, I’d still say it’s absolutely worth seeing, especially if you love the older movies. The nostalgia feels earned and fits the story, the small-town setting makes Ghostface feel scary again, and the cast is strong across the board. The humor is back, the set pieces play better than the trailer suggests, and it brought back that classic Scream feeling for me.

The reveal is the biggest letdown, and it’s the one thing keeping Scream 7 from being an all-timer. Even with that, I had a blast, and the highs easily outweigh the stumble for me. As of right now, I’m locking Scream 7 into the number four spot in my franchise ranking.

I also left the theater excited to jump back into this world again. I hope they bring two more films to complete a new Sidney trilogy, like the original run from 1 to 3. If Williamson keeps growing into this role, the ceiling is high.