If you've seen Scream 7, then there's a good chance you'll have questions – well, you're in luck, because our Scream 7 ending explained has answers. The latest entry in the 30-year-old slasher franchise sees the return of Neve Campbell's Sidney Evans (née Prescott) to final girl duties after sitting out Scream 6, as the ghost(face)s of Sidney's past come back to haunt her.
As with all Screams, not only is Scream 7 a bloodthirsty slasher, it's also a tricksy whodunnit, with many-a-red-herring and dead end to throw viewers off the scent. And with the extremely decomposed likes of Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher, David Arquette's Dewey, and even Scott Foley's Roman Bridger in the cast list, you may be curious how it all fits together.
Scream 7 ending recap
After discovering there are in fact two Ghostfaces (making that the film's third Ghostface, for those keeping count) and being abducted from the Little Latte coffee shop, Tatum is taken "where the heart is" (aka home) so that Sidney can watch her die. After arriving home sweet home, Sidney is subjected to a wonky deepfake video of previous Ghostface killers and figures from her past who torment her, including Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Scream 2's Nancy Loomis (Laurie Metcalf), Scream 3's Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), and dearly departed Dewey (David Arquette). We're not going to lie, this bit is total rubbish.
Going back to "where it all started," ie. a girl tied to a chair in the backyard, Sidney finds Tatum tied up, with Ghostface standing behind her. It's unmasking time, and the killer is… er, that guy from the psychiatric hospital who was in one scene an hour ago? That's right, Marco (Ethan Embry) has been butchering Tatum's friends. The film's third, still mysterious Ghostface then steps behind Tatum, and switches places with Marco while he fetches Mark from the garage. Turns out Mark is somehow still alive, despite being stabbed in the chest a lot many, many hours earlier.
With a grievously injured Mark at Tatum's feet, it's time for Ghostface unmasking number three, and after an obvious actor switcheroo (seriously, there was clearly a different person under the cloak before), the mask is removed to reveal… Jessica (Anna Camp)! AKA Sidney's neighbour who appeared in precisely two throwaway scenes an hour ago. Oh dear.
After Marco reveals that, as well as a psychiatric hospital orderly, he was also a Google Security Specialist with a background in AI(!), hence the very convincing deepfakes, Jessica details her very unconvincing motivation. Sidney's book "saved her life," apparently, and emboldened her to kill her abusive former husband. But when Sidney "disappeared" from the public eye, Jessica couldn't handle it and had a breakdown, checking herself into Fallbrook, where she met Marco and the film's other Ghostface, Karl Allan Gibbs, who was a fellow patient with a violent background.
Yes, that means Jessica was behind the murder of her own son, Lucas ("He had too much of his father in him"), and now Jessica wants to murder Sidney in front of Tatum to continue the "cycle" following the death of Sidney's mother, Maureen, which kicked off the whole series. Anyway, Mark helps Tatum break free, Sidney shoots Marco in the head, and Jessica makes a dash for the garage.
In the garage, Sidney and Jessica fight it out, but Sid's never in much danger and repeatedly stabs Jessica with a screwdriver. After pulling the ol' disappearing killer trick, Tatum and Sidney both unload a full clip from their guns into Jessica's head, literally shooting her face off. "Past my prime? Fuck you," Is Sidney's witty retort.
During the fallout, we learn that Chad and Mindy survived their Ghostface attack (again) and are ready for primetime, Sidney says she should have gone to New York with Gale and that she trusts her, and Mark is taken away, alive, in an ambulance. During a heart-to-heart with Tatum, Sidney explains that she's named for her murdered friend Tatum from the very first Scream (who memorably died by garage door), as she was "funny, outspoken, strong and fierce", and her wish for Tatum was that she'd be "strong and unafraid". Still a bit morbid if you ask us.
Who dies in Scream 7?
As you probably expect, there's an extensive list of deaths in Scream 7. In rough chronological order, here's who dies, and how:
- Scott (Jimmy Tatro) – stabbed in the brain
- Madison (Michelle Randloph) – falls on a knife and is burned alive
- Hannah Thurman (McKenna Grace) – disembowled
- Karl Allan Gibbs (Kraig Drake) – run over by Gale
- Chloe Parker (Celeste O'Connor) – falls onto glass, which stabs her in the neck
- Lucas (Asa Germann) – head impaled on a beer tap
- Ben (Sam Rechner) – repeatedly stabbed
- Marco (Ethen Embry) – shot in the head
- Jessica (Anna Camp) – face shot off
Who is Ghostface in Scream 7?
As partially explained above, there are in fact three Ghostfaces in Scream 7. The first to be unmasked is Karl Alan Gibbs, who Sidney first comes across when he stares rather intensely at her while buying a coffee. Gibbs is run over by Gale, Mindy and Chad after rolling into the road following a tussle with Mark.
The second Ghostface unmasked is Marco, aka the Fallbrook psychiatric hospital orderly who shows Sidney and Gale around earlier in the film. Marco is a former Google Security Specialist and is responsible for the Stu Macher deepfake calls that Sidney receives throughout the film. He is shot in the head by Sidney after Mark creates a distraction. Marco and Karl assume the mantle of Ghostface at the behest of the film's third and final Ghostface…
…Jessica! Turns out Sidney's suspiciously sweet neighbour was behind it all. As detailed in the recap above, Jessica wants to kill Sidney following her withdrawal from the public eye, which she saw as a betrayal. How she ended up moving in next to Sidney, and why she came up with the most convoluted revenge plan in history goes, sadly, unexplained.
Is there a Scream 7 post-credits scene?
There is no post-credits scene in Scream 7. However, there is extra footage that plays during the credits. At the end of Scream 7, Gale finally gives Mindy her shot at hosting a news broadcast (despite having just been stitched up, following a slash to the stomach). Over the credits, we see the failed results of that hosting gig, including many flubbed lines and restarts. In the grand Scream tradition, there are also short character vignettes that play over the credits alongside the actors' names.
How does Ghostface know the code to the Little Latte?
We have to admit, this one has us stumped. Despite setting up some kind of reveal that Ghostface is someone close enough to Sidney for them to know the security code to Sid's coffee shop, that's not the case, as Jessica is Sidney's friend and neighbor, and probably not someone she'd share senstive security information with given her paranoia.
The most likely explanation is that Marco somehow accessed the information by hacking Sidney, but if that's the case it's never said. Similarly unexplained is a throwaway line during the theater murder that the killer knew their way around. It makes a certain amount of sense that Jessica might, as the parent of a student, but how many parents spend significant enough time at their teenage son's school to know the bowels of the building like the back of their hand?
Is Stu Macher alive in Scream 7?
No, this is (seemingly) unequivocal. Stu Macher died by TV to the head in Scream. The Stu we see throughout Scream 7 is a deepfake created by Marco, presumably with an AI-generated voice. Marco's claims that a 'John Doe' with amnesia who looks like Stu Macher checked into Fallbrook earlier in the film are evidently a lie to throw Sidney and Gale off the scent. The same goes for Nancy Loomis, Roman Bridger and, sadly, Dewey – all still dead.
Will there be a Scream 8?
Despite being sold in trailers as "one last Scream", recent reporting and even quotes from Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson suggest Ghostface could return for an eighth outing. Variety is claiming that "plans are already in place for the killer’s lethal return in an eighth film", while at the film's US premiere, Williamson said, "If this movie works and people want it, we're here for the fans," and that star Neve Campbell had this great idea, and everyone seemed to run with it." Given it's on track to have one of the biggest opening weekends of the franchise, don't be surprised to see Ghostface back on screens in a few years.
Scream 7 is out now. For more, check out our ranking of the best Scream movies, and keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.
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