Scream

Scream 7 Review: Not perfect, yet competent enough

Brighton Nelson

26 Feb 2026 — 4 min read

As a rather young movie reviewer, only 19, I'm trying to catch up on tons of franchises right now. Months before this film came out, I put the whole franchise on hold at the library to try and catch up, yet, alas, I could only get my hands on four through six. As such, this review will offer a very odd perspective, judging the film in a vacuum, on its own merit, and not as the seventh entry in the franchise. And, yes, I will do a better job in preparation for the inevitable Scream 8... Honestly, I thought this film was coming later in the year, so I didn't prepare adequately. Anyway, in this review, I, Brighton Nelson of the Reel Ranker, newbie to the Scream franchise, will be delving into the pros and cons of this currently maligned film.

Shocking. Yet another poster where everybody's head floats behind the title.

First of all, Kevin Williamson did a decent job directing here! The film, from what I've heard, has some new stylistic choices, with Ghostface's mask taking on a more supernatural glow as he stalks his victims. I actually found Williamson to be truly competent in his craft here, and I'd love to see him direct more films in the future! While he isn't revolutionizing or breathing new life into the horror genre, he still has a great grasp on suspense and tension. Unfortunately, he did not write the film's script. As a prolific screenwriter, he certainly would've brought a better script to the film than what we got. While the majority of the script here was solid, it absolutely started to lose the plot when the villains are revealed and in a couple of other sequences. So, please, Williamson, maybe at the very least write the reveal in Scream VIII, because your reveals were always good.

Like practically everyone else, I found the reveal nonsensical at best. Unlike the majority of critics, however, I still found the rest of the third act quite good, and I don't think it ruined the film. Sure, the poorly executed reveal and the laughably bad choices for who to make the killers were significant hindrances, and the film felt more committee-driven and generic, in a franchise with a reputation for its quirky flair. It's still an entirely watchable, above-average generic slasher. Just because it feels more like a standard B-movie slasher doesn't mean it's bad, even if it is rather disappointing.

Why do I call it above-average, even if it is quite standard? Because this film has plenty of solid elements, even if the script fell apart at times. As many long-time fans of my websites will know, I love watching rankings in my free-time and, as such, I've seen quite a few rankings of the kills in this franchise and, from what I've seen, this movie has the best kill roster in the series thus far, and some truly gnarly ones that hold their own in a quite saturated genre. While most of the new characters weren't anything all that special, Sydney's husband and especially her daughter were great side characters.

The relationship between Sydney and her daughter is easily the biggest selling point of this film, and the main reason I can say it stands out and is worth a watch. Evolving Sydney's character by her being a mom was (probably) a great place to take her character, and Tatum herself is awesome and should absolutely become the main character of the next trilogy of Scream films because, frankly, it'd be a good way to keep Sydney around as a mentor without continuing the ridiculously unrealistic idea that tens of people are out to get Sydney for some reason.

What did you all think of Sidney's daughter Tatum in Scream 7? : r/Scream — Tatum was awesome! The actress did a great job here.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 67%
Letter Score: B
Star Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

While the plot, reveals, and mystery of Scream 7 hold the film back quite a bit from being a true hit, the visceral kills and the relatably interesting mother-daughter relationship help it cut through enough to be an entertaining horror film, even if it may not live up to the eponymous franchise.

Interested in checking out my reviews for some other recent horror projects? Check them out below!