Two very different Scream films recently made their 4K debut as Lionsgate released Wes Craven’s final Scream film on 4K. Meanwhile Paramount dropped the highest grossing film in the franchise, Scream 7, after a lucrative run in theatres.
Scream 4 (2011)
After more than a decade between franchise entries, director Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson reunited on a new Ghostface film. Scream 4 is one of those titles that didn’t connect at the time (like its predecessors, the film faced numerous MPA battles, and at least one backstory – for Mary McDonnell‘s aunt character – was drastically cut back in the editing bay).
Scream 4 has only gotten better with age, however. The film is notable for introducing fan favourite Hayden Panettiere as Kirby, the next generation’s horror media savant, as well as Emma Roberts‘ iconic turn as Ghostface. As Jill, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell)’s niece, Roberts ate up the climactic monologue reveal, including a series of self-harming incidents designed to cast suspicion on other characters. It’s a gonzo finale for the ages, as is the multi-fake out opening featuring a bevy of Hollywood’s biggest starlets such as Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin.
There are two versions of the 4K available. Both port over the Blu-Ray’s legacy special features, which includes alternate openings and endings, deleted scenes, and a feature commentary with Craven, Roberts, Panettiere, and Campbell. Folks who want new features, however, must seek out the Lionsgate Limited Exclusive, which boasts featurettes including: The Meta of Scream; Rebooting the Franchise: Scream 4 Revisited; Ghostface Revealed!; and Wes Craven: The Maestro of Scream*
*This edition was not made available for review so I can’t comment on the new content.
- Movie: 4/5
- Legacy Extras: 3.5/5
Scream 7 (2026)
Making its physical media debut is this year’s Scream 7 (2026), which reunites original cast and crew members Kevin Williamson (now directing), Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and returning Scream V (2022) & Scream VI (2023) screenwriter Guy Busick (who co-writes with Williamson).
The Movie:
After taking a supporting role in V and then sitting out Scream VI due to a pay dispute, the franchise’s latest entry puts Campbell’s Sidney firmly back at the center of the narrative. Echoing previous iterations such as Scream 4 and – to a lesser degree 5 – both of which featured a “return to Woodsboro” narrative heavy on nostalgia, Scream 7 finds Sidney living in Indiana with a new husband (Joel McHale) with a teenage daughter, Tatum (Isabel May). When a new spate of Ghostface murders target the Evans family, it falls on Sidney to teach Tatum how to survive a real life horror movie, even as she faces the return of her past in the form of AI-generated adversaries such as Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard).
The Extras:
Scar Tissue: The Making of Scream 7 (21 minutes): The most significant extra is a fairly standard making of featurette. This includes footage from the film, interviews with stars and crew (clearly shot on-set during production), as well as select relevant snippets from previous films. It’s all very complementary (everyone is “kind,” “talented” and “generous”), with McHale getting the best soundbite when he relates that his 16 year-old son encouraged him to take the gig in order to “get relevant again.”
Disappointingly there’s a clear avoidance of any of the controversies that plagued the production, including the firing of former lead Melissa Barrera for making anti-genocide comments; the departure of co-star Jenna Ortega and former directors Radio Silence; and changes in the script that delayed the film for ~2 years, including the 11th hour return of Scream V & VI co-stars Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy-Brown.
It’s not surprising that these elements go unremarked upon, though the absence is certainly felt in Busick and Williamson’s talking head interviews. Both men seem to deliberately avoid addressing the plot except to reiterate how vital Sidney is.
Also odd: Cox is the only cast member who is wholly absent from all of the special features.
Building Tension: Production Design (8 minutes): John Collins walks through all of the film’s major locations, identifying what’s real (ex: the exterior of Sidney’s house and the first floor; the replica of Stu’s house in the opening so it could be burnt down) and what was constructed (ex: the second floor of Sidney’s house and the back yard). It’s always fun to see what was built to accommodate shooting needs.
Dance of Death: Stunts (6.5 minutes): Stunt coordinator Jennifer Badger, who doubled for Gale in Scream 2 and 3, as well as Amber-on-fire in Scream V, walks through how much time she had with each castmember (McKenna Grace, whose Ice Nine music video is also included, arrived first to work on her wire rigging setpiece, whereas McHale had only two weeks to prep for the Evans family siege).
Deleted Scenes (5 minutes): A completely underwhelming collection of scenes that have no impact on anything. Scott (Jimmy Tato) unzipping a Ghostface mask from his suitcase; a bleeding Chad and Mindy Meeks agreeing that returning was a mistake; Lucas (Asa Germann) turning down Chloe (Celeste O’Connor) for a date so that he can watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Tatum defending her mother when boyfriend Ben (Sam Rechner) suggests Sidney is locking her up, etc.
Most of these don’t last longer than 30 seconds and offer nothing interesting. There’s also no commentary on the disc – here or for the feature at large – which is a huge disappointment considering it would have been interesting to hear Williamson and/or Busick explain certain creative decisions, particularly the film’s heavily criticized (and underwhelming) villain reveal.
- Movie: 2/5
- Extras: 1/5
Scream 4 (now available) and Scream 7 (available June 16) can be purchased on 4K, Blu and VOD.
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