Scream 7 Heads to Paramount+ May 28 and Ghostface Still Refuses to Retire

Ghostface clearly didn’t get the memo about taking a break. After carving up the global box office earlier this year, Scream 7 is making its streaming debut on Paramount+ on May 28, giving horror fans another excuse to sleep with the lights on and side-eye every unknown phone number that pops up on their screen.

The latest entry in the long-running slasher franchise arrives with a major selling point baked right into its DNA: Kevin Williamson is back in the director’s chair. Yes, that Kevin Williamson, the writer who launched the original Scream in 1996 and permanently ruined landline phones for an entire generation. With Williamson returning alongside co-writer Guy Busick, Scream 7 leans hard into nostalgia while still trying to convince audiences that Ghostface has fresh tricks left in the blood-soaked bag.

Surprisingly, it works more often than not.

Neve Campbell returns as Sidney Prescott, once again proving that horror franchises may reboot, sequel, requel, and spiral into nonsense, but Sidney remains the one constant keeping this series grounded. This time around, Sidney has settled into a quieter life, at least as quiet as life can be when masked killers seem to track you like a subscription service renewal notice. Her daughter, played by Isabel May, becomes the newest target after another Ghostface emerges, forcing Sidney back into survival mode.

And honestly? Watching Sidney Prescott gear up for battle again never gets old.

The film balances legacy characters with newer faces better than some recent franchise entries. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding continue to bring energy to the newer generation, while Courteney Cox slides back into Gale Weathers mode like she never left. David Arquette’s appearance will absolutely have longtime fans talking, and Matthew Lillard showing up in any form feels like the franchise knowingly winking at its audience while holding a very large knife behind its back.

Scream 7 also remembers something several modern horror sequels forget: the kills should actually be fun. The movie delivers brutal set pieces, sharp pacing, and enough self-aware humor to keep things entertaining without collapsing into parody. It still pokes fun at horror fandom and franchise fatigue, though thankfully it avoids sounding like a lecture from Film Twitter.

That said, the movie occasionally leans a little too heavily on callbacks. There are moments where Scream 7 feels determined to remind viewers how much they loved the earlier films instead of trusting the current story to stand on its own. Fortunately, the cast commitment and Williamson’s understanding of the franchise keep things moving fast enough that the weaker stretches don’t drag the whole thing down.

Financially, the franchise is clearly far from dead. Scream 7 pulled in more than $214 million worldwide during its theatrical run, making it the highest-grossing installment in the series’ 30-year history. Not bad for a franchise built on people making catastrophically bad decisions after answering the phone.

For Paramount+, the addition of Scream 7 strengthens an already stacked horror lineup that includes Smile, A Quiet Place, Friday the 13th, and Paranormal Activity. The service has essentially become Ghostface’s permanent residence at this point, with all seven films and behind-the-scenes extras available for horror marathons.

The franchise may keep changing the rules, reviving old faces, and introducing new victims who definitely should not split up during suspicious situations, but Scream 7 proves there’s still life left in the series. More importantly, it remembers why audiences keep coming back: clever kills, sharp humor, and Sidney Prescott refusing to go down without a fight.

Ghostface survives another round. Somehow, we’re still answering the phone.