“I’m getting a little woozy here…”

Or how Scream 7 still has something left to offer.

“Stu’s back, baby!”

After years of speculation - and many, many fan theories of how he might possibly hce survived, many of which were referenced in the last Scream movie - it’s not really much of a spoiler to reveal that, at long last, veteran actor Matthew Lillard has finally returned to the franchise that helped make him famous.

But is everything exactly as it seems?

Scream 7 finally catches back up with the ultimate final girl, Sydney Prescott (sadly missing from the last film, Scream 6, because of a dispute over pay), who is now married under a new name to a local police chief with three daughters in tow - one of which, Tatum, is a typical angry teenager.

When Sydney receives a mysterious phone call, baiting her, seemingly from Stu who is supposed to have died in the first film, she rushes to her daughter’s school - too late to save one of Tatum’s friends who dies in spectacularly gory fashion, starting off a whole new killing spree by someone new dressed as Ghostface.

As Sydney desperately does her best to try and discover who is responsible for the new killings, while attempting at the same time to keep her daughter and all her friends alive, she is very soon joined in her endeavours by veteran reporter, Gail Weathers - herself suffering from the after effects of the last attack she survived, and now dropped from her Tv show and trying to stage a comeback.

It’s all very much by the book, and delivers everything you might expect from a Scream film, and so in that way doesn’t disappoint…but more than that, much more than that, it’s also a lot of fun.

If the end reveal is all a bit convoluted and doesn’t really make a lot of sense, or stand up to too much scrutiny, then that’s okay - traditionally the big reveal is often the weakest part of these movies after all. If you go into this film already knowing exactly what you’re going to get, and not expecting much more than that, then chances are you’re going to enjoy it.

Because Scream 7 is first and foremost just a lot of fun.

I simply love, love, love the way this franchise never takes itself too seriously - there are numerous references to how Sydney was strangely absent from events in New York, not to mention how, at one point, Sydney was known for seemingly “killing a new Ghostface every year”, and the kills in this latest entry are easily some of the best we have seen so far.

One of my only criticisms? Actor Joe McHale here plays almost the exact same character that he plays in almost everything - be it Community or be it Animal Control - and all I could think of every time I saw him was “there’s Jeff Winger.” So much so, that I almost expected Troy and Abed to show up at any moment.

“Troy and Abed getting mur-dered.”

Some might argue that this film is simply a case of flogging a dead horse, but to that I would strongly disagree.

Overall, Scream 7 just a fun, fun movie. And because of that, I can’t wait to see what the writers and directors bring back to the table for part 8.

Because, of course, when a franchise has now been going for so long, why wouldn’t you bring out yet another instalment?

And as this latest film shows, this series still seems to have plenty still to offer.

4 😱😱😱😱 / 5

FINAL THOUGHTS: I see Scary Movie is also likewise making a comeback and whilst people are up in arms about a certain “they/them” joke in the trailer, I have a very different beef concerning one scene with the Terrifier himself, Art the clown, dressed as Santa Claus as he was in Terrifier 3, and handing out body parts - one of which turns out being a set of testicles.

Now I have no problem with this per se, but the one thing I do have a problem with is that this already seems like a very “ART” thing to do - and my question is, how can you parody a film that, itself, is already a parody and from the trailer, looks a lot like it could have been a deleted scene from the original film?

I’m all up for seeing Art the clown branch out, but I have bad feelings that Scary Movie 6 (they made SIX of these films?) is going to be yet another misfire.

Especially since after rewatching the first one again last week, I was reminded just how unfunny those films have now become.

Good luck to The Wayan brothers if this film ends up being a success, but personally I can’t see it happening.