Scream 7 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 2/5

Plot synopsis: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (NEVE CAMPBELL) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter Tatum (ISABEL MAY) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Quick Hit Review: To a great extent I’ve enjoyed the Scream franchise with the first two being my favorites while the third entry was a step down though the fourth did a great job reestablishing the meta aspects that made the first so entertaining. Scream (2022) kind of reset things with new leads played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega (though the OG’s still were prominent). I wasn’t totally in love with this entry but it certainly had its moments and it did entertain me, especially with Mikey Madison insane over-the-top performance that so damn enjoyable. And Scream 6 tries to move on when the studio low-balled Neve Campbell on her salary and her absence was noticeable though not even Campbell could save the film from a lame story and unsatisfactory Ghostfaces.

And now we get to Scream 7. This is a production marred from the beginning first with the firing of Barrera and her political stances (not going to go into it here) and following her exit Ortega bounced from the franchise as well. What any sane studio would do is a take a pause, regroup and come up with some cohesive storyline. What we get instead is a film that felt slapped together and likely was being written during production. Most disappointing is this was the return of the original creator Kevin Williamson getting a co-writing credit and taking the helm as director, marking his only second feature following 1999’s Teaching Mrs. Tingle.

The supporting cast did their best I suppose. Joel McHale for his part seemed to have been brought on at the last second once Patrick Dempsey dropped out to the point they didn’t bother changing the character name of Mark nor his profession as a police chief. The young actors, namely Isabel May and McKenna Grace show promise and come out unscathed while we do get cameos from previous victims and killers, most notably Matthew Lillard making his much awaited return. This isn’t much of a spoiler since his name is listed on the poster…

Scream 7 was a misfire from the beginning. Sure, the opening of the Stu Macher home being burnt down was interesting (as were the kills prior), when the movie was over it made absolutely no sense.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5

This release comes housed in a Steelbook packaging with a J-card. Inside is the redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

Scar Tissue: The Making of Scream 7 (21:49) — Pretty basic but still longer-than-usual, behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews by the cast as they try to pump you up for this latest chapter.

Building Tension: Production Design (8:13) delves into the making of the various sets.

Dance of Deaths: Stunts (6:27) shows how some of the stunts were performed.

Music Video (3:27) — Ice Nine Kills Presents “Twisting the Knife” featuring McKenna Grace

Deleted Scenes (5:09) — Six scenes didn’t make the cut.

4K ULTRA HD VIDEO – 5/5, BLU-RAY AUDIO — 4.75/5

Scream 7 slashes its way onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and is presented here in the original 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. Having actually seen this in theaters, I’d say it pretty much matches my experience. Detail is nicely sharp while colors are mostly muted giving way for the darkly lit scenes or scenes shot or taking place at night. Black levels for the most were well balanced without being crushed.

AUDIO – 4½/5

The movie comes equipped with a strong Dolby Atmos track that offers both clear dialogue coming via the center channel but where the track takes off is during the numerous kills with Marco Beltrami’s score giving this some decent amount of depth.

OVERALL — 3/5

Scream 7 is easily the worst in the franchise, even eclipsing Scream 3, as this one was so lazy and felt slapped together. As many problems I had with the previous installment, it at least felt like there was a completed script. I can only hope the eighth movie will course correct things but given the massive box office there’s not much incentive for the studio to make meaningful changes.