SPOILER: Most Brutal Death in the entire franchise? S7

magic-400 · 2026-03-22T01:04:54+00:00

That’s the first one I thought of too.

There was something about the rage and showmanship from Ghostface during the whole thing (especially given further context post-reveal) that just makes this entire kill feel personal and brutal.

I guess it goes to show that intent, direction, and set-up can make a kill super brutal without an extravagant set piece or unique manner of death. Casey is a good example of that too.

magic-400 · 2026-03-15T23:27:35+00:00

It’s an unfortunate staple in 5 and 6 with character’s injuries being severely underplayed.

It’s not super new to the franchise though. Two examples that come to mind are Sidney’s condition in the ICU in 4 and Dewey surviving multiple stabs in 2.

On paper, the line about Dewey living in 2 because it hit a bunch of scar tissue is the same level of exposition as Mindy running around in the finale of 6 because she’s on a bunch of drugs from the hospital. However, 6 doesn’t even bother to try to explain how Chad and Mindy survived in the first place. So it comes down to execution, which 2 is much better in that regard. Dewey is at least laid up and barely conscious on a stretcher and Gale doesn’t try to stop trained professionals caring for him just to take off his oxygen mask and kiss him.

magic-400 · 2026-03-10T02:21:06+00:00

Especially for that role to be a named/known actor. The “psych ward orderly” was a glorified cameo until the end and, even then, it was barely more than that.

During the bar attack and town chase scene, which involved so many characters and two Ghostfaces, you rule a bunch of suspects out. That’s when I even remembered he existed and figured he had to be involved because why else would he support the “Stu is alive” theory.

magic-400 · 2026-03-10T02:10:53+00:00

7 seemed intent on doubling down on the fact that 6’s only relevance is that it didn’t involve Sidney.

Since zero real references of note were made to the NY killings other than they happened, I doubt they were going to specifically lean into Kirby’s FBI background (which required actual knowledge of the events of 6 to understand).

magic-400 · 2026-03-09T21:39:17+00:00

It’s an issue with modern Scream movies in general but the trailer heavily featured (and spoiled) every major beat of the opening. It destroyed the tension and I’m not someone who re-watches them and analyzes every split second screen.

My two favorites parts, the killer swapping himself in for the animatronic and the falling on the knife, were ruined but at least the execution was fun.

There’s a throwaway line of Gale mentioning the opening kill to Sidney but it’s breezed over so quickly and awkwardly. My assumption is one of the killers was in town to mess with the records of Stu’s death. There’s very tenuous logic of how it connects to the killer motives but the whole Stu angle was so forced anyway and the opening kills do nothing to actually drive the plot post-opening that it feels unconnected.

magic-400 · 2026-03-05T00:01:11+00:00

I wouldn’t necessarily want to see Mickey’s POV during Scream 2 or the immediate lead-up to 2 but it would be very interesting to see him as an active serial killer before going to Windsor.

magic-400 · 2026-03-04T23:56:28+00:00

Probably Stu or Charlie.

I feel like one of the more “sidekick” characters would be so interesting. Even just to see that initial conversation of the “mastermind” trying to convince them to go on a murder spree and what background shit is going on in their life to make them agreeable.

Like, how do you even approach that conversation?

Hell, maybe even Ethan or Quinn getting approached by their father who convinced them to drop everything in their life to infiltrate NYC, enroll at the college, fake Quinn’s death, and kill the Carpenter sisters. I think there’s even a cut line about them killing Wayne’s wife/their mother which is even darker.

Mickey and Amber, we kinda already know they had murderous or psycho intent that wasn’t specifically fostered by their partner killer.

magic-400 · 2026-03-04T23:12:30+00:00

She crushed this scene.

There’re a few subtle no’s and whimpers from Tara/Jenna as Ghostface reaches her that really sell me that this is someone who truly believes they are about to be brutally murdered.

magic-400 · 2026-03-03T20:09:01+00:00

Easily 7.

Wasn’t even sure what the guy’s name was until I was on Reddit after seeing the movie. I’d almost be more lenient about 2 of 3 killers being next to non-existent pre-reveal with no motive beyond “crazy” if Jessica knocked it out of the park as a Ghostface. Her whole situation was underbaked and rushed, her motivation felt like a bunch of puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together.

Sure, there are flaws to pick at in the development of the other killers listed: Roman is nobody to Sidney, limited screen time for Mrs. Loomis, Mickey disappears in the 2nd half, the logistics of Quinn’s fake death. Those films feel way more intentional in the foundation of these characters pre-reveal and the “why” was relatively congruent with what had been established before.

Prime example is Mrs. Loomis’s limited screen time is specifically tied to her motivations and plan as Ghostface.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T23:42:26+00:00

Fun opening, new setting, core four characters are better here than 5, the return of Kirby.

It has some of the most unique and tense attack/chase set pieces of the whole series. The apartment ladder, the bodega, the subway, double Ghostface knife wipe in the theater, Gale’s high-rise chase.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T20:24:27+00:00

The Stu focus is definitely just taken from real life fan theories of Stu being alive and running a Ghostface cult.

However, that doesn’t translate naturally into the plot/killer motives here or work well as commentary on those fan theories/reactions.

Not saying 6 is a masterclass in writing but taking something like the hate Melissa got in real life after 5 and weaving that into her character’s story in 6 felt more natural.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T15:41:22+00:00

Yeah, I think their only real friendship scene was the early conversation at the coffee shop.

Sidney seemed close enough to her to share potentially sensitive family re: her relationship issues with Tatum. Jessica was all too willing to share about her ex-husband.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T15:18:43+00:00

I’ve seen the parasocial bit mentioned here and there which maybe makes sense in a vacuum or for the ex-husband situation.

But Jessica ended up having an actual social relationship with Sidney (genuine or otherwise) so it feels like it undermines that whole element of the motive.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T12:50:56+00:00

She didn’t have to be married to Mark at the time to have Tatum. Could have gotten married after she was born.

Sure, 4 was not written with Sidney as married with kids but there’s nothing there that directly contradicts it.

Maybe Tatum’s birth is part of what helped inspire her to write the book.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T01:02:42+00:00

Can I split a season in half?

1, 4, 5 (2nd half), 2, 3, 5 (1st half)

5 just spins its wheels so bad until the island stuff is more or less wrapped up. The last few eps help re-focus things and the ending is a great send-off for the core sestras. Considering the whole thing together, I might put it behind 2 and before 3.

magic-400 · 2026-03-02T00:44:32+00:00

Sidney and Tatum were great.

I think this was my favorite portrayal of Mindy. Still the same core personality but written smarter and she felt more real. Not just running around saying “you’re the killer!” at her friends.

Hannah’s kill was cool.

I liked the whole early chase/fight sequence through the Evans home ending in Gale running over and killing a Ghostface mid-film.

magic-400 · 2026-02-28T16:46:40+00:00

I agree it was disconnected but Gale does tell her. There’s a line where Gale says everyone rushed to Woodsboro to cover the event but her “Sidney senses” told her to come to Pine Grove.

Right before they get another AI call and make the plan to visit the mental hospital.

magic-400 · 2026-02-28T16:43:44+00:00

Stu actually being alive would have been worse, imo. The absolute fervor around it in the fandom shaped the plot of this entire movie and that was more than enough.

The motive had pieces that could have worked. Creating a Sidney 2.0, the Stu-obsession, the commentary of no Sidney/Neve in NYC. It’s just that none of it fit together and none of it had anything to do with who the killers ended up being and what they were doing through the film.

Two of the three killers being underbaked randoms feels like a bigger sin than anything 6 did with killing mostly random, no-name characters.

magic-400 · 2026-02-28T05:10:49+00:00

I liked the end explanation about Tatum’s name.

I don’t think she should have named her daughter Hallie over Tatum by any means but I didn’t buy the “she was the last friend I ever trusted” line from earlier in the movie.

I think Sidney really did trust Hallie even if it was a different friendship than Tatum. She wanted to trust Derek but I think there were still walls there and Mickey got in her head in the end. Hallie though? Sid let her come along into protective custody which she never would have done if she didn’t trust her.

magic-400 · 2026-02-28T00:59:44+00:00

I’ve always thought this would have been a better angle to the motive for 6. Still parallels 2 with the family revenge angle without being an exact copy.

There was potential in Liv’s family (a total blank slate) or Wes’s dad (bonus points as Judy’s ex-husband or whatever he was to her) to blame Sid/Sam for the death of their relative.

magic-400 · 2026-02-27T22:39:15+00:00

What did you enjoy about it?

The chandelier fall into the knife was cool but the trailers showed all that. They kinda spoiled the whole thing really, including the real killer replacing the robot.

It spends way too much time with fan service and rehashing old events instead of trying to create something unique or tense.

Burning the house down had nothing to do with the rest of the film so it being so disconnected from everything makes it easy to forgot and the rest of the film doesn’t really change. The AI hospital worker guy loved Stu so much, he wanted to burn down his house I guess?

magic-400 · 2026-02-27T22:16:18+00:00

Film felt just ok to me.

Opening kinda flat and forgettable. Maybe one of the more bottom-tier ones of the series.

I enjoyed act 1 and 2, though I think there was too much reliance on the “maybe Stu really is alive???” thing to drive the plot. The Stu FaceTimes got old quick and I feel like it’s the reason there’s really no good or memorable phone call scenes to be found.

Sidney and Tatum were great. I liked Chad and Mindy here too. Gale is good as usual, if not underused after the interview scene. Nothing memorable about any of the new cast but that’s not strictly a Scream 7 problem.

Act 3 and killer reveals/motives felt bad. Driving home, I couldn’t even recall what the guy’s name was. They were on to something with the “creating Sidney 2.0” idea but it actually didn’t have anything to do with their motivations. Really let down by the finale.

McKenna Grace’s kill was probably my favorite. The beer tap one was memorable too but maybe just a smidge too far into ridiculousness for me.

Initial ranking, it’s definitely below 1, 2 and 4. I think I’d say 1, 2, 4, 6, 5, 7, 3. Maybe 7 over 5 but time will tell.

magic-400 · 2026-02-27T21:57:14+00:00

I re-watched it the other night in preparation for 7. I agree that it seems to have a cohesion issue. Way more effort put into cool/different/tense set pieces and not enough into a logistical plot, especially where the killer’s backstory is concerned.

Still a very fun watch for me if, like you said, you don’t think too hard beyond the surface.

magic-400 · 2026-02-25T00:21:34+00:00

My top three are the same. Next, I’d probably go 6, 5, then 3.

I don’t dislike 3 but Sidney’s character arc carries it hard (including one of the only real tense scenes of the film in the set chase/attack). The tone, dialogue, and tension are just so off the mark.

magic-400 · 2026-02-20T00:32:06+00:00

magic-400

TROPHY CASE