Scream 7. A copy of a.
by Brandon Norwood
Nine Inch Nails has a song called “Copy of a”. “I am just a copy of a copy of a copy”. Scream used to be a subversive franchise that was a great send up of slasher films, while also being a great one in its own right. Tongue firmly planted in cheek, the satire matched the kills. In this seventh installment however, we are now in legacy sequel territory.
Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) now lives in Pine Grove, Indiana. Married to local cop Mark Evans (Joel McHale) and a mother to three including eldest daughter Tatum (Isabel May). When a new Ghostface killer arrives, Sydney is forced to confront a reckoning on protection and survival.
Legacy sequels aren’t all bad. I love Tron: Legacy, Top Gun: Maverick, Creed, and Blade Runner 2049. Scream has now had a legacy requel (reboot sequel) three times including this one. Legacy is a topic that has been brought forth many times by various characters in this whether it’s the Meeks-Martin twins (Mason Gooding and Jasmine Savoy Brown) addressing this directly or the other characters directly talking about the events of the previous six films. The constant reminder of how brutal the events of New York was grew tiresome.
I was excited that Kevin Williamson was back. The creator of the series who wrote the first two and co-wrote the fourth is back directing and co-writing the script. I was very wrong. This lacks energy the series had in its best installments.
Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers is the best thing when she and the Meeks-Martin twins enter the picture. Sadly, both Gale and the Meeks-Martin twins are only really in the second act of the film. Gale specifically being absent for the big showdown felt weird.
I also have to give it up to the excellent set-piece of Sydney and Tatum moving through the walls of the house that’s featured prominently in the trailers. Excellent use of tension and suspense.
I wanted to leave once the first Ghostface killer dies. There’s three this time, and each reveal is more stupid than the last. Characters throughout this make decisions that had my audience sighing in frustration. This literally felt like the first and fifth movie rolled into one. None of the new characters (minus Mark) worked for me. A copy of a copy of a.
4 slaps from the Hands of Zeus without lighting bolts out of ten.