By Rohan Coleman
Since the very first installation started poking fun at the tropes and clichés that had plagued horror films for over 40 years, the ‘Scream’ franchise has captured the hearts of horror devotees, cementing itself as one of the most beloved and influential scary movies of all time. Originally directed by Wes Craven of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) fame, Scream (1996) aimed to satirise the tired tropes that featured in most horror films from the 1950s onwards, like the immediate death of the unlucky character to utter the words “I’ll be right back,” for example. However, the latest addition to the franchise, Scream 7, seems to favour these clumsy tropes and box office results over the artistic direction and unbridled creativity of the original franchise. Controversy after controversy surrounded the production of Scream 7 since 2023, with the moral corruptions of the film piling up, leading to the complete downfall of the Scream franchise as it was once known.
Upon its 1996 release, Scream demanded the attention of cinema lovers, with its brand-new horror icon, Ghostface, acting as the main proponent for ticket sales. While Ghostface was and is an incredibly exciting villain, it was the outstanding meta commentary on horror tropes that reeled in a loyal audience. Its effortless mix of suspense and satire alongside its naming and framing of traditional genre elements made it the perfect spooky movie for every viewer – die hard horror fans and scaredy cats alike enjoyed these films as they packed enough scares to ensure your heartbeat races, only to immediately joke about the stereotypical method the film had used to scare you. Final girls, killers lurking in the shadows and the ‘rules’ of surviving are among the numerous clichés tackled by Scream in its wonderfully creative and original exploration of the slasher flick. Across the four films Wes Craven directed, and the two modern sequels released in the 2020’s, horror fans and casual scary movie enjoyers held the Scream films in high regard, making it one of the most iconic and celebrated modern horror franchises.
Unfortunately, that high regard and loyal fanbase seem to mean nothing to the ‘Scream’ franchise anymore, with the latest entry ‘Scream 7’ creating countless controversies, isolating its audience and creators alike, ultimately earning itself the title of the worst entry in the franchise by far. The controversy surrounding the film began in November 2023, when it was announced by Spyglass Media Group, the main finance and production company of the franchise, that lead actress of the fifth and sixth films, Melissa Barrera, was fired from Scream 7. This came as a complete shock, as Barrera’s character Sam was the lead of the latest two films, with the actress being one of the main selling points of the franchise. This firing came as a result of Barrera’s public support of Palestine and condemnation of Israel, with the actress consistently sharing informative posts, calls to action and Palestinian creators across her social media platforms. A representative from Spyglass stated that the production company has “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech”. One day after Barrera’s public firing, co-star and popular actress Jenna Ortega left production of Scream 7 also. While at the time it was thought Ortega stepped away due to scheduling conflicts with Wednesday Season 2, the actress later cleared up her reasoning for leaving the film in an interview with The Cut, stating “it had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart.”
The firing of Melissa Barrera led to widespread outcry from Scream fans, film creators and social media users alike, who condemned Spyglass Media Group’s immoral treatment of the actress based on her exercising her right to free speech, labelling them as a Zionist and inhumane company. Boycotts of the film, other Spyglass projects and Paramount films were called, as Paramount are the main distributor of the Scream franchise. The original script for Scream 7 was originally going to continue Barrera’s storyline, though due to her firing $500,000 were spent rewriting the story amidst the loss of various cast and crew members.
March 2024 sees Neve Campbell, star of Scream instalments 1-5 return for Scream 7, after refusing to join the cast of Scream 6 due to salary disagreements. While it has not been publicly disclosed, Campbell felt her offered salary did not reflect her value to the franchise, leading many fans to believe she would never return for another film. That is, until the legacy actress was offered $7 million dollars to lead Scream 7.
Very few Scream 7 cast members have publicly discussed the controversies surrounding the film or the firing of Barrera, with Barrera’s previous co-star Jasmin Savoy Brown stating actors are expected to know as much about politics as politicians. And, in today’s day and age when everything is online, everyone thinks they’re an expert in everything, which isn’t the case.” Scream 7 newcomer Anna Camp delivered her much more direct opinions on social media, as she posted that “boycotts didn’t work, the critic’s hate didn’t work, the pathetic leaks didn’t work. Audiences, casual moviegoers and fans have overwhelmingly shown up for this movie in the face of a smear campaign by critics due to political reasons, an online boycott that has ranged from annoying to harassment.” The star would later apologise, claiming she had reposted somebody else’s story and that this did not reflect her own beliefs.
The involvement of Paramount in this franchise and the firing of Melissa Barrera is incredibly troublesome, especially since Paramount is in the process of acquiring Warner Bros. under CEO David Ellison, who is close friends with President Donald Trump. Paramount has recently blacklisted a multitude of high-profile actors such as Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, and Susan Sarandon solely based on their outspoken support of Palestine. Barrera was among the first victims of political silencing within the film industry, a fate that seems increasingly common for any artists attempting to show support for the plight of Palestine.
Aside from the anti-Palestine sentiments shown by Scream 7, the film also collaborated with Meta AI to create a generative AI feature, which would allow users to insert themselves into scenes within the film. This has furthered the criticism for the film, as generative AI is heavily criticised for its consumption, plagiarism, and attempted replication of human-made art, as well as the detrimental environmental and ecological impacts caused by generative AI, due to the massive amounts of water needed to reduce overheating in AI datacentres. Scream 7 collaborated with online gambling website Kalshi also, allowing fans to bet their money on whether they think certain characters will survive, who the killer will be, alongside many other factors. These two aspects of the films marketing campaign have furthered its controversies, and increased the number of boycotts, both online and at global premieres.
While Wes Craven initially set out to create a satirical critique of the horror genre, poking fun at the world of filmmaking millions of people knew and loved, it seems the Scream franchise has become the very thing it used to parody. Money-hungry, immoral and cheap, Scream 7 throws away the creative originality and humanity that used to be central to the horror franchise, trading these elements in to become the typical scary sequel it used to differentiate itself from, as it destroys its own fanbase, artistic integrity and general value completely.