It’s like they say in “The Dark Knight:” you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the sort of film your franchise set out to make fun of.

“Scream 7” is the seventh installment of the 30-year-old slasher franchise, and follows a new Ghostface killer targeting the family of Sidney Prescottt (Neve Campbell). Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Courteney Cox reprise their roles from the previous films, with Isabel May, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Tim Simons, and Joel McHale joining the cast. Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first film of the series, steps into the director’s chair.

I am a huge fan of the “Scream” franchise. The fourth film was the first movie I ever wrote a review for, while the first is arguably my most-watched film of all-time. I will always look forward to a new installment of it (as long as I get Ghostface committing some fun kills, my lizard brain will be happy), but a troubled production leading up the “Scream 7” is fairly obvious in the finished product, which while having moments of slashing amusement is the clear-weakest addition to the famed franchise to-date.

Neve Campbell returns to her star-making role of Sidney Prescott, who at this point is being hunted by the sixth different Ghostface. Campbell, who was not in the sixth film due to contract disagreements, gives a solid performance as a mother trying not to pass her own trauma onto her daughter while staying protective, and is still capable of being an effective final girl. As her teenage daughter, Isabel May carries her own enough, but it;’s not the sort of performance that feels like we’re watching a new Scream Queen be born.

Much of the new cast feels either wasted or like complete afterthoughts. Even though several of the young members have shown they can be good in other projects (Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, Jimmy Tatro), their characters are given very little to do or even distinguish themselves from one another. Not only does this make us not care when most of them inevitably get killed off, but it also makes for a boring suspect list as for who is behind the Ghostface mask.

Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay for Screams 1, 2, and 4 (while producing the third film), and after serving in just a creative supervisor on the previous two installments is back not only as a co-writer with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick (who wrote 5 and 6), but steps into the director’s chair, taking over for the Radio Silence team. While it is nice to have the man who created the franchise (alongside Wes Craven) back, both Williamson’s script and direction feel phoned-in. While Craven was great at being tongue-in-cheek creepy and Radio Silence is known for their brutality and almost mean-spirited approach, Williamson’s direction is largely hands-off, and he feels contempt recycling shots and themes from previous films. Christopher Landon, known for the “Happy Death Day” films. was originally slated to direct the film, however following internet backlash to the studio’s firing of Melissa Barrera, he stepped down, which is a shame because I’ve long said he would make such a fun “Scream” film.

The worst part of the film is the writing, which on top of not giving us any fun new characters (especially considering stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega did not return) features next to no meta commentary, scary movie “rules,” or film references. The “Scream”” films are known for their ability to poke fun at horror franchises and movies in general, yet here the film says almost nothing at all. There are brief mentions/inclusions of things like artificial intelligence, generational trauma, and movie franchises becoming over-reliant on nostalgia, but the movie does absolutely nothing with those themes. If the script had leaned into the absurdity of this happening to its characters for a seventh time, and the film bringing back previous stars for cameos as cheap ‘member berries for fans, then maybe things could be more easily excused (the ultimate meta move: knowingly make the worst film of the franchise to prove that every franchise eventually makes a bad film!). The Ghostface killer reveal and motive are also by-far the weakest of the series, and in a way just got to further vindicate the motives of 4 and 5 even more.

There are a few fun quips and clever kills sprinkled throughout “Scream 7,” and I think fans of the series will find enough to be entertained by. However it barely feels like a “Scream” film (honestly it plays more like one of the new “Halloween” requels than anything else), and it just reeks of missed opportunities and forced rewrites. If nothing else, at least “7′ makes it so “Scream 3” is no longer the universally-agreed weakest entry of the franchise, but it is just a shame that things turned out the way they did.

Critics Rating: 6/10