I Can’t Get Over the Awful Ending to ‘Scream 7’
The worst part of an abysmal sequel.
[Spoilers ahead for the Scream movies.]
Scream 7 was a cursed production. Spyglass Entertainment has been the feckless steward of the franchise since The Weinstein Company imploded, and while there was promise in the legacyquel reboot of Scream 5, the following film showed a series that was back to running on fumes. The studio didn’t want to pony up the dough to bring back Neve Campbell for Scream 6 (that’s right; they low-balled the star of the franchise), and presumably weren’t going to do it for Scream 7 either. But then Spyglass fired star Melissa Barrera because she said something on social media the company “deemed antisemitic” after war began in Gaza by noting that Israel was engaged in “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” (Not for nothing, but two reports from Israeli humanitarian groups later agreed that Israel was committing genocide) Co-star Jenny Ortega walked away citing “scheduling conflicts” (a polite way of saying, “I’m not interested anymore”), followed by director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), who received death threats over Barrera’s firing despite not making that call. That sent Spyglass crawling back to Campbell to give her the payday they should have offered in the first place. They also made a desperation play by coming back to Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original, Scream 2, and Scream 4, to write and direct, even though he hadn’t directed anything since 1999’s Teaching Mrs. Tingle.
From a business perspective, this has all worked out for Spyglass and distributor Paramount. Despite the controversy and poor reviews, Scream 7 had the best opening weekend in franchise history, and I’m sure the studio is looking to fast-track Scream 8. But Scream 7 smacks of a sloppy rush-job, trafficking largely in franchise nostalgia, terrible plotting, and a conclusion that is about as morally bankrupt as the series has ever been.
