The brand-new Scream film, Scream 7, has debuted to one of the worst reactions to any instalment of the horror franchise.
Scream 7 sees the return of iconic franchise star Neve Campbell but has stoked controversy over Melissa Barrera’s firing.
Barrera was the ‘final girl’ of 2022’s reboot of the franchise titled Scream, also appearing in the follow-up film Scream 6. Barrera was fired from the seventh film however due to her social media posts.
The actor posted on her Instagram story in November of 2023 calling out the Israeli genocide in Gaza, leading to production company Spyglass firing her and accusing her of ‘hate speech’.
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This has led to calls for a boycott of the new film and also saw the director Christopher Landon and Jenna Ortega exit the movie.
Ortega and Barrera had played sisters in Scream and Scream 6 and the Wednesday star quit the film shortly after her co-star was fired for her social media posts about Palestine.
Initial reports claimed that Ortega had left the film due to ‘scheduling conflicts’ with Wednesday, but the timing continued to raise eyebrows and speculation began that she quit in solidarity with Barrera.
This was all but confirmed in an interview with the Wednesday star where she told The Cut: “It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart.
“If Scream 7 wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
Barrera spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Ortega’s exit, saying: “We chatted for a while, and I love her so much. She’s been very supportive of me, and we’re sisters for life.”
Scream and Scream 6 had developed a ‘core four’ cast of Barrera, Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmine Savoy Brown, with Gooding and Savoy Brown returning for the seventh film.
Speaking about the situation, Savoy Brown said: “It's been really sad and stressful.
“Often, actors are expected to know as much about politics as politicians.
"I also think there is a clear difference between talking politics and standing up for people who don't have a voice. It's not politics, it's human life.”
She went on to add: "I can't imagine making this movie without Melissa and Jenna. It won't be the same. On the flip side, I do care about this character so much, and I care so much about the people that care about her.” Mason Gooding called their departure a ‘version of grief’.
Scream 7 has dropped to the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any film in the franchise, sitting at a 38% at the time of writing.
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com said of the film in his 1.5 out of four star review: “Every aspect of Scream 7 feels rushed and shallow. It’s visually atrocious, suffering from the low-lighting choice that afflicts so many modern movies, and it’s cut together with halting, stilted rhythms.”
Scream 7 is available to watch in cinemas now.
Topics: Jenna Ortega, Horror, TV and Film, Film, Palestine, Celebrity
Michael Slavin