Scream 7 baits fans into thinking an underrated horror icon was finally getting his due – and I'm not happy about it

Scream 7 has arrived, and with OG Ghostface actor Matthew Lillard in tow. While that should excite even the most fairweather of Scream fans... the hype is always just that, and Stu Macher doesn't exactly return the way we maybe thought he would.

Instead, the film is nearly two hours of references from Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 3, relying on the hope that nostalgia will distract from what is otherwise a pretty convoluted plot (and lackluster Ghostface reveal). Don't get me wrong: Lillard acts his absolute ass off, and looks like he's having way more fun than anyone else in the cast... but if you thought Stu was finally going to get the same cred and appreciation as his bestie Billy Loomis... think again.

Warning: Massive spoilers for Scream 7 ahead. We recommend turning back now if you haven't already seen the film.

These days, you gotta have a sequel!

When the news broke that Ulrich was (presumably) out and Lillard was officially in, I was hoping this meant it'd be Stu's turn to lurk in the dark recesses of someone's mind, or at least in a series of terrorizing flashbacks that plague the returning Sidney Prescott as she begins to feel guilty for not telling her daughter Tatum anything about what happened in Woodsboro on that fateful night (though it would've been amazing to have both Stu and Billy in the same movie again, even if they existed as separate manifestations for separate characters and never truly reunited.)

Oh, but no: Lillard himself all but confirmed that Stu Macher would be up and walking around… and very clearly using the word 'alive.' This is something the actor has said throughout the years, fueling the fan theory that Stu could've lived.

Well, here's why that could and could not be plausible: Since the plan was always to kill Sidney and her father and frame them as the Ghostface killers, Stu and Billy decide to stab each other. Not enough to kill each other… but enough to make sure they look like victims of a horrific crime. Rather than aim for precision, however, Billy haphazardly stabs Stu four times with a hunting knife.

As the film's final fight progresses, Stu begins to weaken from blood loss and can barely even grab the phone to make a phony 911 call. This is a detail that people seem to forget when positing the Stu is Alive theory: by the time Sidney pushes the heavy TV onto Stu's head and electrocutes him, he's already experienced a pretty significant amount of blood loss. Even if he did survive the TV, he likely would've been too weak to push it off. The prevailing theory is that, because we did not see a proper gunshot to the head, or his lifeless eyes or mangled face after the fact… there's a chance he survived (unlike Billy, who was shot point-blank dead by Sidney).

The scene is meant to really hammer home just how far gone from reality the two are, solidifying them as "sick fucks" who have "seen one too many movies." It's also the scene that truly showcases their dynamic, with Stu as the more erratic, impulsive psychopath to Billy's eerily calm sociopath (and Lillard makes some of my most favorite acting choices in quite literally any movie ever, I mean, "I'm feeling a little woozy here!").

Stu was more than just Billy's sidekick: he was his true counterpart. Billy couldn't have done any of it without him… and yet it's Billy who gets the most recognition of the two when it comes to '90s horror nostalgia and slasher retrospectives. It's also Billy who got to return for Scream 5 and 6 as a manifestation of his daughter, Sam Carpenter's dark thoughts. Does Scream 7, directed by the screenwriter of the franchise's first film, reintroduce us to Stu Macher in a way that solidifies him as a true titan among knife-wielding horror villains, or give a satisfying conclusion to a 30-year-old fan theory that even the actor himself likes to giggle about? Well, no.

Surprise, Sidney... I'm AI!

As a fan, I don't mind when the creators of a show or movie pander directly to us... though fan service is a slippery slope. Scream 7 not only slips, but is unable to stop its snowboard in time before it crashes into a pine tree. The return of Neve Campbell means everything from the return of Sidney's long-lost leather jacket from Scream 2 (which her daughter wears to school) and a Red Right Hand by Nick Cave needle drop. We also re-visit the Macher house despite most of the film not being set in Woodsboro, which has since been turned into an Airbnb for the true crime obsessed. We don't spend too much time in it, as Ghostface, after killing a young couple who were staying for the night, burns the entire Macher house to the ground. This immediately sets up Stu's return: Who else would burn down the Macher house? Was it Stu? Does he have a child that's seeking to avenge him? (And is that child Mckenna Grace because she's wearing a blue plaid skirt for about four seconds toward the beginning of the film?)

TLDR; Sidney Prescott, now Sidney Evans, returns to the franchise as a coffee shop owner in a small town, married to a cop (Joel McHale), with a daughter (Isabel May) named after her deceased bestie Tatum. Sid is minding her own business at work, of course, when a FaceTime call from where else than Woodsboro, California comes through. When the screen clicks on, Stu's mangled face is staring back at her, voice more maniacal than ever... and he's standing in front of her daughter's high school.

For nearly every killing throughout the film, there's a FaceTime call or an audio call that transpires right before. Immediately, Sidney's husband Mark believes it's a deepfake via AI. But a trip to a nearby psychiatric hospital leads them to the empty room of the first Ghostface... who, according to a nurse named Marco, was great friends with a very alive, and very angry, Stu Macher. But what about AI being so incredibly convincing nowadays? To the point where Tatum's boyfriend Ben is able to superimpose Stu's face and voice over his own (which he apparently just did for funsies, though it was a fun two-second red herring). But nevermind that: Sidney and Gale's tentative belief that Stu has risen is what carries the rest of the film, but it's almost too easy to believe that Stu would go out of his way to announce his every move before each murder, and that he just happened to know the lay of the land (alleged former asylum patient or not). And, as the film's attempt at a bombshell Ghostface reveal tells us, it was, in fact, too easy to believe.

Now, even though Lillard has more or less kept the fan theory going throughout the years… I don't blame him. He's aware of his status as a horror icon and what that character means to fans of the franchise, both diehard and not. What I do blame, however, is the movie itself for suggesting that we were utterly silly for believing it. It's not even a suggestion really: After Marco and Jessica (Anna Camp) unmask themselves as Ghostface, Marco looks Sidney dead in the yes (which makes him appear as though he's looking directly at the audience) and says, "Of course, Stu Macher's dead," in a condescending tone, despite being the one who managed to convince both Sidney and Gale that Stu was alive… not just from the AI deepfakes, but from the supposed evidence that Stu was actually away on an extended stay at a psychatric hospital all this time.

The conceit of the entire film (the entire film) is that Stu Macher is not only alive but has returned to terrorize Sidney and kill her daughter as revenge. It's to the point where Sidney finally gives Gale that exploitative, exclusive interview she's always wanted on live TV, in an attempt to lure Stu out of hiding or at least talk long enough on the phone so they can trace where the call is coming from.

To tell us, the viewer, directly that it's much more realistic for two random Scooby-Doo villains with no connections to Sidney whatsoever to be the Ghostface killers, than it is for Stu to actually be alive (and Ghostface, for that matter)... I guess I don't really get the point of it all. It reminds me a little of how the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre completely disrespected the late Marilyn Burns by having Leatherface kill Sally Hardesty... the first Final Girl (sorry Jamie Lee Curtis, but TCM came out in 1974 and Halloween came out in 1978: you can settle for second). Why bring one Ghostface back and give him a two-movie arc where he exists as a manifestation, sure, but one that cements his status as the true evil heart of the franchise... and have the other exist as a deepfake, whose words and actions are being delivered by someone else? I don't know, but I do know I'm getting a little woozy over here just thinking about it.

Scream 7 is in theaters now. For more, check out our Scream 7 ending explained or read our Scream 7 review.