Scream 7 (2026) Review — Ghostface Comes for Sidney’s Family

The phone rings at 2:47 in the morning, and your stomach drops straight through the floor. You don’t recognize the number. You don’t need to. Because you know that voice — the playful, patient drawl on the other end of the line, asking the question that started it all thirty years ago: “What’s your favorite scary movie?” Your hands are shaking. You tell yourself it’s a prank call. It’s always a prank call. Until it isn’t.

But here’s the twist that turns your blood to ice water: this time, the killer isn’t calling for you. He’s calling for your daughter. Sidney Prescott did everything right. She survived Woodsboro. She outran every sequel. She built a quiet life under a new name — a husband, a home, a teenage daughter who has no idea what her mother lived through. She earned her peace. And now Ghostface is coming to collect.

Welcome back to the stabbiest franchise in horror, fiends. Harper Nevar here, and Scream 7 just dragged me into the theater kicking and screaming — and I loved every vicious minute of it. Here’s what nobody tells you about final girls: they don’t get to retire. They just get better at fighting back.

The Review (No Major Spoilers, Promise)

Sidney Evans — yes, that Sidney, married now, living the quiet suburban dream — has her world detonated when a new Ghostface emerges right where she’s built her new life. And this time the mask isn’t after her. It’s after her daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), a sharp, funny, instantly lovable teen who inherited her mother’s survival instincts… and, it turns out, her mother’s enemies. To protect her family, Sidney has to do the one thing she swore she’d never do again: face her past head-on.

Let’s start with the obvious: Neve Campbell is magnificent. Her return isn’t a cameo or a nostalgia prop — it’s the beating, bleeding heart of this movie. Watching Sidney as a mother, fierce and terrified in equal measure, gives Scream emotional stakes it’s never had before. It’s one thing to watch strangers get sliced in act one. It’s something else entirely to watch a mother realize the past she buried is coming for her child. Campbell plays every shade of it — the trauma, the fury, the unkillable final-girl steel — and reminds you exactly why she’s horror royalty.

And then there’s the man behind the camera. Kevin Williamson — the writer who created this whole beautiful nightmare back in 1996 — finally directs a Scream movie himself, and it feels like the architect coming home. The kills are mean and inventive, the meta-commentary is razor-sharp (there’s a killer monologue about “legacy sequels” that had my whole theater cackling), and the third act is a pressure cooker. Roger L. Jackson’s voice on the phone still sounds like pure nightmare fuel — some things should never change.

The reunion around them is stacked. Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers remains the toughest reporter in horror history. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding return as Mindy and Chad, still the MVPs of horror-trivia exposition. Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher looms large over everything, and David Arquette’s Dewey shows up in a way I refuse to spoil. New blood keeps it fresh: Mckenna Grace, Anna Camp, and Joel McHale as Mark Evans all carve out their place in the cast — and the body count.

Is it perfect? Honestly, almost. The middle act sags just slightly under the weight of all that legacy, a couple of the red herrings are herrings you can smell from the parking lot, and if you’re allergic to fan service, one particular moment will make you roll your eyes — right before it wins you completely back. These are quibbles in a slasher this confident, this fun, and this willing to bleed for its audience.

Trivia & Killer Facts

• Full circle: Scream 7 is directed by Kevin Williamson — the man who wrote the original 1996 Scream — his directorial debut for the franchise, thirty years later. Screenplay by Williamson & Guy Busick, from a story by James Vanderbilt & Busick.
• Box office royalty: Made for $45 million, Scream 7 slashed its way to $214 million worldwide — officially the highest-grossing film in the franchise’s 30-year history, dethroning the original’s $173 million record.
• Thirty years of terror: The franchise that reinvented the slasher in 1996 is still setting records in 2026. Not bad for a “dead” genre.
• The essentials: Rated R, 114 minutes, from Paramount Pictures. Theatrical release: February 27, 2026.
• Want to go deeper down the rabbit hole? Check out our horror wiki for the full Ghostface lore.

Where to Watch

Scream 7 is streaming on Paramount+ (since May 28, 2026), and also available on Digital, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD. So dim the lights, silence your phone — unless it’s Ghostface calling — and press play.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Scream 7 the last Scream movie?

No official announcement has been made that Scream 7 will be the final film in the franchise — and with a $214 million worldwide box office, another sequel seems very likely.

Does Neve Campbell return in Scream 7?

Yes. Neve Campbell returns as Sidney Prescott, now raising a family — and Ghostface has them in his sights.

Where can I watch Scream 7?

Scream 7 is streaming on Paramount+, and is also available on Digital, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD.

Who is Ghostface in Scream 7?

As is tradition with the franchise, the killer’s identity is kept under wraps to avoid spoilers — you’ll have to watch to find out.

Harper Nevar’s Rating

Scream 7 is the rare legacy sequel that actually earns its nostalgia. It’s scary, it’s funny, it’s surprisingly moving, and it gives Sidney Prescott the chapter she always deserved. The phone rang, I answered, and I’d do it all again. What’s your favorite scary movie? Right now? It’s this one.