Original Scream star Neve Campbell has promised that Scream 7 will return to what franchise creator Wes Craven had in mind for the slasher saga after recent sequels went a little "bit far" in terms of levels of gore.
"I had felt that those last 2 were sort of, uh, went in a direction that was sort of off path with Wes, with how he did gore, or how he did the killings," said Campbell in an interview with Evolution Of Horror. "I had felt that, for my personal preference, it was a bit far. If it’s grounded, it’s okay. It’s going to be more effective if it’s grounded."
Craven directed the first four Scream movies before he sadly passed in 2015, with Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson penning the script for each addition. Then, 11 years later, Ready or Not directing duo Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin took the reins with the fifth Scream movie, followed by Scream 6 in 2023. Despite the new sequels winning many fans over, it is undeniable that Scream 5 and 6 feel a little different from the rest of the franchise, both in terms of tone and level of gore.
Campbell is not the first original star to notice the difference, either. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Matthew Lillard, who plays one of the Ghostface killers in the first movie, said that although he thought that Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin were taking the franchise in a "really exciting" direction, he "thought the movie got too violent." The star pointed out one scene in Scream 6 where Ghostface goes to shoot up a store, adding, "I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun."
However, although Scream 7 is "not as gory" as its recent predecessors, Campbell says "there are definitely scenes that are very gory," adding, "for the people who love gore, it’s definitely there." The sequel shakes up Campbell's Sidney Prescott's quiet new life when a new Ghostface killer makes her and her daughter (Isabel May) the target.
Scream 7 hits theatres in the US on February 27 and in the UK on February 26. For more, check out our ranking of the best Scream movies, and keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.
