Scream 7 has set an unwanted record for the horror franchise following its first reviews. The latest entry in the slasher series is out in cinemas now, and sees the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott as she tries to protect her daughter from a new Ghostface.
It doesn’t act as a direct follow-on to the rebooted series, with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega previously exiting the Scream series after the last 2023 movie.
However, critics have largely slated the newest film – one calling it “the worst in the franchise” – and as a result of its 37% Rotten Tomatoes score, it currently stands as the lowest-rated Scream entry.
That is based on 83 reviews at the time of writing, and there is a chance that the score could creep up as more verdicts come in. Yet it would have to beat the second-lowest score of 45%, which belongs to 2000’s Scream 3, to avoid remaining at the bottom.
Here’s what critics have been saying about the Kevin Williamson-directed sequel.
“Unfortunately what we’re left with is a sequel that is repetitive, bland and ultimately generic, possibly the worst thing for a Scream movie to be.”
“Scream 7 is certainly the worst in the franchise and while an eighth installment seems like a foregone conclusion everything about this is sloppy, inconsistent and tired. By this point this is a zombie that just wants to be put to rest.”
Paramount Pictures/Spyglass Media Group
“There’s no escaping the nagging feeling that it seems like Williamson fed Scream into an AI chatbot and the machine spat this wretched thing out – it has all the familiar components but doesn’t move right, sound right or feel right; it’s not funny, or scary, or suspenseful. Scream 7 is an unfortunate tarnish on this otherwise sturdy franchise’s legacy.”
“In the end, the worst thing about Scream 7 may be how utterly forgettable the entire film turned out to be. When the wheels came off the production in 2023, everyone involved had two options: Start over or go back to the beginning. In our nostalgia-driven era, it makes sense that they chose the latter, but they ended up proving the old truth that you really can’t go home again. Not even Sidney Prescott.”
Paramount Pictures/Spyglass Media Group
“From abandoned panic rooms to flubbed Ghostface executions, the characters make so many dumb choices that eventually we’re convinced that Williamson is frustrating us by design. Maybe in the boldest meta twist of all, the inventor of Scream wants to kill it off himself.”
“Despite the occasional cheeky moment and brutal slaying, a property that once satirised horror cliches has largely succumbed to them.”
“There’s just about enough here to show signs of life (with tracking suggesting a huge opening, Scream 8 is an inevitability) but Williamson often feels like he’s treading water when he should be drawing blood.”
Scream 7 is out now in UK and US cinemas.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ as a sub-editor.