Hack or Slash - A Horror Movie Review Podcast · Hack or Slash

Scream 7 (2026)

March 6, 2026·1 hr 33 min·1 clip

Both careers shaped by the same foundational moment—until 2023 when it all fell apart.

The conversation starts with Christopher Landon and Kevin Williamson. It traces how a 1995 spec script landed with a young Landon at a production company, got flagged early as something to buy, and later became the basis for Scream. That origin story also sets up the seventh film’s collapse. Landon was hired in 2023 and said it felt like fate. Then the offscreen trouble takes over. Melissa Barrera was controversially fired by Spyglass Media Group, Jenna Ortega left soon after, and fans blamed Landon for a firing he had no part in. The hosts note that he received death threats and eventually stepped away from the project in December 2023. The film then had to start over. The studio went back to Sidney Prescott, and that reset becomes part of the burden. From there the discussion turns to the movie itself. The panel says it is not bad on its own. They also say it is more fun than plenty of other movies. But they keep returning to the same problem: once the franchise context comes back into focus, the film feels hollow. That disappointment matters because Scream means a lot to the genre. They compare that feeling to the letdown of Halloween Ends. Kevin Williamson’s caution in taking the role reads as reverence for Wes Craven, but also as a limit. The show argues that caution is rarely a virtue in a Scream movie. The final verdict lands on watchable, occasionally fun, and ultimately not worthy of the leading lady or the franchise. The segment closes with two hacks and one slash, plus an invitation to come back for the spoiler discussion.

As heard by us

A franchise-sized letdown that is still watchable and sometimes fun.

Scream 7 comes off as a franchise-sized mess, and the conversation gets right to why: Christopher Landon’s aborted turn in the chair, the fallout around Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, and a film that already feels bruised before the knives even come out.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Play this if you want a haunted franchise postmortem with a clear verdict.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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