Scream 7 Review: Put a Knife in It — This Franchise Is (or Should Be) Done
The seventh film in the franchise lands with Neve Campbell back in the lead and the kind of production turmoil that dominates conversation about the picture. scream 7 matters now because its behind-the-scenes upheaval — a high-profile firing, cast exits, a pricey rewrite and seven-figure paydays — is as central to the film’s story as the masked killer on screen.
Scream 7's tumultuous production: a firing, an exit and a director switch
Late in 2023, Melissa Barrera was fired from the seventh installment by Spyglass after resharing social-media material that was judged antisemitic; that material included a post accusing Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing" and a magazine article alleging the Israeli government was distorting "the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry" following the outbreak of war in Gaza. Shortly after Barrera’s axing, Jenna Ortega — Barrera’s on-screen sister and a protagonist in the previous film — announced she would not return, citing scheduling conflicts with her hit series "Wednesday. "
The fallout reached creative ranks: director Christopher Landon left the project after receiving death threats tied to the firing even though he did not make the decision to remove Barrera. Producers then turned to franchise veteran Kevin Williamson to take over directing duties.
Neve Campbell’s return, paydays and the studio calculus
Neve Campbell has returned as Sidney Prescott, a move that the production treated as a major development after her absence from the prior film. Campbell secured a nearly $7 million deal to rejoin the franchise; Courteney Cox received a $2 million payday for her continued role as Gale Weathers. Concerns that the series could struggle without Campbell had surfaced after the sixth film, which prompted anxiety among studio executives because Campbell did not return previously amid a salary dispute.
Those concerns were eased by the commercial strength of the prior chapter: Scream VI earned $161 million at the global box office, the biggest haul since the first two installments. Observers note that Campbell remains a draw — one analyst said, “Neve Campbell is to ‘Scream’ what Jamie Lee Curtis is for the ‘Halloween’ franchise, ” and that she is especially appealing to older generations who grew up with the originals.
Script overhaul and the $500, 000 retool
With Barrera and Ortega out, the screenplay required a significant retooling. Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick, who wrote previous installments, co-wrote the new screenplay and performed the overhaul after the departures; the rewrite cost roughly $500, 000. The characters played by Barrera and Ortega had been the protagonists of Scream VI in lieu of Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, which made the rewrites substantial rather than cosmetic.
On screen: cast, scares, character beats and release details
The cast mixes franchise veterans and newcomers: Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, David Arquette, Roger L. Jackson, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, Matthew Lillard, Joel McHale and Courteney Cox. Kevin Williamson directed and he and Guy Busick are credited as screenwriters. The film is Rated R and runs 1 hour 54 minutes, and it is scheduled for release on Friday, February 27.
On screen, Ghostface — the knife-wielding masked murderer, with the voice provided by Roger L. Jackson — is set to slash through most of the cast. The film leans into the franchise’s familiar mechanics: fake-out scares followed by real ones, and self-referential banter. Characters utter lines that underline the series’ tropes: "It’s always someone you know, " one observes; another says, "This was too easy, " and a third notes, "There’s always more than one. " Critics find the mechanics numbingly familiar, describing the series’ current creative state as having the stale feel of a Pink Floyd cover band.
Campbell’s Sidney Prescott is reintroduced with a new life in another town: she is happily married to local cop Mark (played by Joel McHale) and has a teenage daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), who was named after a friend who met an untimely end in Scream. Tatum’s boyfriend, played by Sam Rechner, presents the devilish looks that make him an immediate suspect when Ghostface returns. Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers, who was seriously injured in Scream VI but survived, greets Sidney with lines about being missed and the brutality of the previous chapter: "You were missed in New York, it’s not the same without you, " and "You’re lucky you sat that one out. It was brutal. " Sidney is explicitly described in the film as a "scream queen, " placed alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in that lineage.
Box office hopes, nostalgia and unanswered questions
Commercial expectations are high: the film is tracking a North American debut of $45 million to $50 million, which would produce a series-best opening. The studios behind the picture are banking on nostalgia and the revived popularity of the franchise after it had been considered dormant a decade ago. But the film arrives under a cloud of debate: critics and audiences are discussing whether Melissa Barrera deserved to be fired, what the real reason was for Jenna Ortega’s departure, what kind of hardball Neve Campbell played to be enticed back, whether Kevin Williamson will succeed at directing for the first time, which veteran performers — representing characters both living and dead — will return for cameos, and even why the title reverted to an Arabic numeral after the previous installment used a Roman one. Those questions about creative choices and corporate intrigue have become as central to the conversation as the on-screen killings.
