Not many movies can be called a masterpiece: “Scream 7” is one of them.
It is, in fact, Oscar-worthy.
You would think that the “Scream” franchise would have explored every riveting plot possibility by the sixth movie, but that is not the case.
The movie’s plot is like nothing I have ever seen before: jumpscares, creepy phone calls, scantily clad, braless women running for their lives and couples in love exploring previous crime scenes to spice things up.
And the biggest shocker: the appearance of masked killers!
The riveting plot
The plot for “Scream 7” had to change since the producers originally planned for the Ghostface killer Billy Loomis’ daughter Samantha Carpenter to be the murderer. However, the female lead, played by Melissa Barrera, was fired due to her online posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict, and the other female lead, Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega, quit shortly after her co-star was fired.
The new main character in “Scream 7,” Tatum Evans, played by Isabel May, is Sidney Prescott’s daughter. Horror “it-girl” Neve Campbell was brought back into the Scream fold to reprise her role as Prescott and face her ultimate nemesis — you guessed it — Ghostface.
Tatum comes from a long line of women terrorized by Ghostface — her grandmother Maureen Prescott was the first victim in the Scream franchise. The film’s commentary on generational trauma has opened my mind and enabled me to reflect on the trauma my own maternal family has inflicted upon me. The psychological breadth of this movie sets it apart in the horror genre, rivaling classics such as “The Shining” or “Silence of the Lambs.”
Paradise lost
The movie is set in the small town of Pine Grove, Indiana, where Sidney, her husband Mark, played by Joel McHale, and daughter Tatum live peacefully operating a small coffee shop.
Life is perfect (if you forget the previous and abundant fatalities and trauma) until killer Stu Macher, one of the original Ghostfaces and an accomplice of Billy Loomis, FaceTimes Sidney to threaten Tatum. This causes Sidney to run to her daughter’s rescue at the local high school, where she is rehearsing a play.
The first murders occur at the high school theatre when two of Tatum’s friends are viciously attacked. This begins a terrifying domino effect of successive murders.
Sidney’s “partner in crime” Gale Weathers, played by “Scream” franchise veteran Courteney Cox, makes a brief reappearance. Gale has a final-girl moment when she runs over Ghostface with her car to save Sidney and her family from a violent attack outside of their home.
However, for someone so well-versed in witnessing and avoiding countless murderous attacks, Sidney’s reckless actions gave a nod to traditional horror movie tropes — people doing dumb things to get themselves or others killed.
This allowed for an extensive amount of slasher scenes, and by the end of the movie, few survivors are left. But the film shows very little character growth, and the audience does not care one way or another if the characters survive. Brilliant.
A masterpiece for the ages
The seventh installment of the “Scream” franchise is truly one of a kind. In an age when every headline seems like satire, it is good to know we can count on well-made films to lift us from the depression of what is happening in the world right now.
Have you seen this masterpiece? Let us know in the comments what you think.
