Summary
Horrorsequels only have one of two choices: follow the formula of the previous movies or do something that feels totally out of left field. SinceScream 7has had many delays and fans are only recently hearing casting news, people aren’t sure which road it’s going to go down. I lovethis slasher franchise more than any otherand hope that the movie is as impressive as I know it can be. But reflecting on the history of the franchise, it’s clear that not every movie lived up to high audience expectations. And some people wonder if they’re going to be disappointed this time around.
Critical reception and box office numbers weren’t great forScream 4. AlthoughScream (2022)andScream 6were more popular than the fourth one, does that mean that the next installment will be as beloved as previous ones? I have afew concerns aboutScream 7, andI have some ideas for howScream 7can avoid the fate ofScream 4.
What Was The Problem With Scream 4 And How Can Scream 7 Make Fans Happy?
The main issue that many horror fans have withScream 4isit didn’t feel like the slasher franchise was evolving. It wasreleased in 2011, which was eleven years afterScream 3.Although the movie could have felt contemporary, it still felt like a 1990s horror movie thanks to its cheesy tone and focus on the teenage characters. Sure,everyone loves Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), but some feel like the other characters, such as Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), are mean and uninteresting.
Scream 4was also the lowest-grossing of all theScreammovies. According toBox Office Mojo,Scream 4grossed only grossed $38,180,928 domestically.Forbesreported thatScream (2022)earned more money than Scream 4 in a single week. Since so many people prefer to watch movies at home now and they wait for them to appear on streaming, it’s possible that not enough horror fans will head to the theater to seeScream 7.
Scream 7can feel like the next natural progression in the slasher franchise bymaking most of the story about Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) instead of giving the new characters all the good and meaty storylines. Althoughyoung stars like Mckenna Grace have been cast inScream 7, and Isabel May will play Sidney’s daughter, audiences are most interested in seeing where Sidney is now. The focus should be one the person whom everyone loves the most, not on new characters who might not be as intriguing or compelling. Horror fans will appreciateif the body count is high inScream 7, and that might explain why there are so many new cast members.
Scream 7should combine the best parts of the originals and the rebooted movies bycasting more legacy cast members. If Jasmin Savoy Brown andCourteney Cox who plays the great journalist Gale Weathersappear in the movie, then that could drive people to the theaters. Since there have been so many delays andScream 7only recently got a release date, I think that fans need some good news and a reason to be excited about the sequel.
What Was The Fan And Critical Response To Scream 4?
Scream 4has a 60% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 57% on the Popcornmeter. Audiences didn’t love the fourth movie as much as the first film in the franchise, and critics weren’t happy, either.The Guardiangave the movie a three-star review and called it “uninspiring” and “unoriginally postmodern.“JoBlosaid the film was “inspired.”
How did fans feel aboutScream 4? Many have discussed their thoughts on Reddit.Redditor @johnnysweatbandwrote:
“my problems hit with the end. Basically, I was so into the idea of the killer/s getting away with it and I thought that it would have opened the doors for a whole new and exciting path for the movies to take.”
Redditor @Kailettoalso doesn’t loveScream 4and explained:
“4 is often quite ugly to watch from a cinematographic perspective, with its horrible, hazy filter and weird colour grading. I also find it almost entirely devoid of tension, and underpinned by very unfunny attempts at humour… It just feels like a very tonally strange film, with mostly weak chases and kills, and a very weak killer post-reveal (Charlie).”
