MOVIE REVIEW: SCREAM 7

 

When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, she must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Director: Kevin Williamson

Cast: Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Anna Camp, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O'Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, Joel McHale

Release Date: February 27, 2026

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, and language.

Runtime: 1h 54m

Review:

Scream 7 boast the return of franchise star Neve Campbell and the original writer, Kevin Williamson, behind the camera but this entry lacks any scares or tension while providing plenty of unintentional laughs.  There’s plenty of nostalgia and Easter Eggs thrown onscreen right off the bat which leads you to believe that Williamson intimate knowledge of the franchise and character would lead to something interesting and engaging.  Instead, we get a fairly straightforward take of Sidney as an overprotective mother who has a daughter that’s starting to resent her.  It is interesting enough, initially, thanks to a committed turn from Neve Campbell who jumps back in with relative ease but Williamson doesn’t take full advantage of it by breezing through their relationship before the entrails start gushing.  It’s a shame because Isabel May and Neve Campbell work well together onscreen but the hackneyed, non sensical script fumbles it all away.  Clocking in at nearly two hours, you expect a bit more time would be spent developing a least one or two of the new characters thrown onscreen instead of the paper-thin characterizations we get.  As a result, they barely register onscreen and having Isabel May play an insecure type who ends up in a dog costume in the school play while she looks like a super model is more than a little bit of a stretch.  Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, returning from the previous entry, fare far better by bringing some life to the screen when they pop up with Courteney Cox about halfway through the film.  Their natural charisma and energy shines through so much that you wish Williamson would have taken better advantage of them.  Cox can play this role in her sleep by this point but she’s seemingly begging for something more interesting and impactful to do which is hinted at but never explored.  All of this would be easier to shallow is the film was actually scary which it isn’t as all the kills are and set pieces come off as goofier than tense, eliciting more laughs than anything else especially when the final revel occurs.  Scream 7 probably isn’t the last entry in the franchise but it’ll need some serious course corrections if it doesn’t want to slip further into a parody of itself.

C-

MOVIE REVIEW: HEART EYES

 
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A masked maniac with glowing, red eyes returns every Valentine's Day to slaughter unsuspecting couples. When a cynical ad executive and her hopelessly romantic colleague become the next target, they decide to fight back and end the reign of terror.

Director: Josh Ruben

Cast: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa, Jordana Brewster

Release Date: February 7, 2025

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexual content.

Runtime: 1h 37m

Review:

Heart Eyes is a fun slasher/rom com mash up that works more often than not thanks in large part to its tongue in cheek tone and strong chemistry from Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding.  Josh Ruben shows off his ability to balance the horror and rom-com elements with general ease much like he did in his 2021 sleeper, Werewolves Within, which hit some similar notes.  He leans into the general silliness of both genres by playing up the clichés by peppering the film with elements of each throughout.  Outside of a few clunky moments here and there it mostly works in the film's favor which makes it surprisingly likable even with its occasional stumbles.  There's a fun, playful spirit running through the film that should make it readily apparent that this whole endeavor is more of a lark than a straightforward slasher which may leave a few people wanting for more straight up scares to go along with the blood and guts.  The rom-com elements work more organically thanks to the film's two leads who clearly understood the assignment.  Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding share some strong chemistry onscreen with both showing off some impressive comedic timing during the mayhem.  They both fully buy into what Ruben is trying to do with the film, and both are clearly having a ball onscreen which makes them a likable pair that's easy to root for.  The supporting players are equally locked with Gigi Zumbado and Michaela Watkins leaving the biggest impressions with their limited screentime.  Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster's detectives are fun but underutilized even though both are more than ready to ham it up.  It makes for a slightly uneven final act especially once the predictable reveal occurs.  It ultimately doesn't keep Heart Eyes from being an enjoyable endeavor especially for anyone who's sat through one too many slashers or rom coms in their time.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: SCREAM 6

 

Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage.

Director: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

Cast:  Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, Samara Weaving

Release Date: March 10, 2023

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and brief drug use

Runtime: 2h 2m

Review:

The Scream franchise has always been a strange one for me since I've never really had the deep affection that a lot of people have for the series.  The meta schtick was an interesting take but it'd run its course which brought about the semi revival that hit the screens last year.  This follow up entry, again directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, feels more confident and self assured than their first run.  Moving the setting and resetting the characters give the series a boost of life that makes Neve Campbell's absence a bit easier to take for long time fans.  This entry delivers some solid energy from the start with the performers more than ready to take the handle of the series.  Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin set up some solid sequences, the subway portion is particularly well done, but there's nary a sense of tension or actual scares throughout the entire thing.  That being said, they are entertainingly choregraphed even as they get increasingly goofy due to plot armor that allows characters to survive various forms of bodily harm even though the script overtly promises nobody is safe.  It’s one of my overreach issues with the series since it's never as edgy and it thinks it is before it falls into standard genre tropes.  It's a good thing the cast is game enough to make it all so watchable.  Melissa Barrera, whose eyebrows should be their own character, and Jenna Ortega make for a solid duo even as they spout out some terribly stilted dialogue.  There are hints here and there about Barrera's character that could make her much more interesting but much like the previous entry it only scrapes the surface of her mental state.  Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown return with another fun supporting turn as the brother and sister movie buffs.  Hayden Panettiere and Courteney Cox return with varying degrees of effectiveness with Cox's character feeling mostly inconsequential for the most part.  Dermot Mulroney performance as an NYPD detective is straightforward initially before it jumps off a cliff into cartoonish, much like the final act, territory by the time the film ends.  Scream 6 is still peppered with the issues that have plagued the series overall but it’s entertaining enough to make for mindless fun.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: SCREAM

 

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, Sonia Ben Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Heather Matarazzo, Roger L. Jackson

Release Date: January 14, 2022

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references

Runtime: 1h 54m

Review:

Wes Craven's original Scream was a nice bit of self referential satire on slasher films.  It's the type of film that would have been better served if its subsequent sequels never existed.  It's heavy meta approach wasn't ever all that clever, Craven had done it before with his series send off for Freddy Krueger with New Nightmare.  As the film's have progressed the self reflection and satire has slowly devolved into self parody.  This fifth entry from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett is unintentionally funny in parts and rarely if ever scary to any tangible degree.  The script riffs on elevated horror here and there while being a prime example of why most of the slasher genre is dead and buried.  They are clearly fans of the genre but they deliver some uninspired, bland and mildly boring bits of what can barely be called horror.  The kills are fairly rudimentary with them choosing brutally over creating any palpable sense of tension.  David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox all return with varying degrees of impact with even certain moments that should register emotionally falling flat.  Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Jack Quaid do the heavy lifting for the better part of the film with Quaid being the only who seems to be having a good time.  Barrera is surprisingly flat with her eyebrows leaving the biggest impression on the film.  The who done it at play here sadly isn't all the complex or terribly intriguing as it tries to make a point about toxic fandom.  This fifth entry feels like it should be the last in the series and probably for good reason.

D