When you get to the seventh installment of a horror franchise, it’s impossible to remember who the first killers were.
In “Scream 7,” there’s a rental property where fans of “Stab” can relive the story and encounter Ghostface. But is this Ghostface from the second edition or the sixth?
Before long, we leave the tourist attraction and head to the new home of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a survivor of the original trauma. She has a teenage daughter who’s named for her friend Tatum. Naturally, the “new” killer wants to make her scream.
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Neve Campbell in a scene from "Scream 7."
Directed by Kevin Williamson, the writer of the original, “Scream 7” refers to some of his other works, including “Dawson’s Creek” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” There are plenty of teenagers and a lot of suspicion swirling around every one of them.
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Folks in the town know the backstory, but most don’t bother Sidney. They let her run her coffee shop, warm to her cop husband (Joel McHale), and nag Tatum (Isabel May), who’s involved in a play at school, has a boyfriend who knows artificial intelligence and never questions mom about her past.
Ghostface, however, is eager to remind everyone about that day when cellphones didn’t exist and landlines were great tools for scaring. He seems a bit out of touch with the teens, too, and could be someone from the past. Still, friends disappear frequently. When they’re in a restaurant, Williamson borrows a kitchen chase that looks like the dinosaur one in “Jurassic Park.”
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Courteney Cox in a scene from "Scream 7."
Those fragments must be designed to divert so you don’t dwell too long on any suspect. By the time you get to see characters from the past, you realize you’re in too deep and don’t have the recall to explain why anyone is likely. The film unravels quickly and gets Courteney Cox back as Gale Weathers, the reporter who was on the case way back when. She gets in a few good lines and also tries to make connections to the past.
But really, this shouldn’t be a wallow in trivia but a new reason to watch. “Scream 6” introduced new characters (when Campbell said she wasn’t returning), and they opened the door to a new direction. Now it’s back to the beginning, where we can easily exit.
“Scream 7” does have a couple good jump scares (mostly before the opening credits) and a class reunion that’s quick but satisfying.
Still, Williamson needed to use this as a launch into something new. Everything old isn’t necessarily new again.
