Sunday Scaries: It’s a Shame We’re Never Going to See Christopher Landon’s Take on ‘Scream’ (Revisited)

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we’re once again looking at a filmmaker and a horror “almost was” that could have really been something, as the would be project gets set for release…

In a matter of days, Scream 7 will be released. My press screening is on Wednesday, so look for a review on Thursday. Will it be good? Who knows? I like the franchise quite a bit, as some of you know, so I’m cautiously optimistic. The thing is, this film could have been one of the more exciting ones in the series, had they kept Christopher Landon in the director’s chair. That hire was an inspired one for the movie, and while it didn’t hold, it still has me wondering what might have been.

This is what I wrote last year when the news first broke that Landon was no longer a part of the Scream franchise:

Christopher Landon is a filmmaker who knows how to have a bloody good time. Whether it’s writing some of the Paranormal Activity sequels (or more recently this year’s wonderful Heart Eyes) or directing the Happy Death Day films, as well as Freaky, he has fun with his genre. This weekend, he released his thriller Drop, which showcases a new angle to his work. It’s quality entertainment, though at the same time, it reminded me that he was supposed to be making the new Scream flick. Boy, that would have been something.

This here is some of what I said about Landon’s latest work, Drop:

Christopher Landon directs a script by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, with Landon’s devilish sense of play on full display. His best work to date is Freaky, which is far gorier than this one, while also having more consistently funny humor. Here, Jacobs and Roach have a screenplay that plays like a tech version of Red Eye, using airdrops as its tool of tension. It’s not as effective as other films of this ilk, but Landon stretches out the whodunit element to keep you invested. However, the interplay between Fahy and Sklenar ends up being the highlight.

Landon joining the Scream franchise would have been awesome. Now, he dropped out when, according to him, it was “a dream job that turned into a nightmare.” Of course, that had a lot to do with getting death threats after Melissa Barerra and Jenna Ortega were no longer going to be involved with the sequel. It obviously was no longer a job he was interested in, so this isn’t about how he made a mistake. This is just about how the series would have been lucky to have had him.

Previously, I wrote here about the direction for Scream 7. This is some of what I said:

The Scream franchise is one I have a fair amount of affection for. Hell, not only have I ranked the installments in the series here, I’ve written about how this property is one of the most consistent, quality-wise (here). So, anticipation for Scream 7 should be high. However, there’s been a run of issues that have tripped up the film. Now, it’s back on track with some high profile news that we’ll address momentarily, but it does make the movie exist at a rougher intersection than normal. Why? Well, we can discuss.

Simply put, Scream 7 is in a weird spot. Initially announced after the success of Scream VI, it was going to have the same writers returning in Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt, but now it’s just the former, with the pair having Story By credits. So far, so good, right? The directing duo known as Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) was just going to produce, and initially the director was set to be Christopher Landon, but he dropped out. There also was Melissa Barrera getting fired and Jenna Ortega leaving the sequel. At one point, it appeared to be that the flick would just go away. Well, that’s not the case.

First up, the big news is that Neve Campbell is back. Notably, she had passed on Scream VI due to not being offered what she felt she was worth. So, her getting paid here is obviously a good thing. That being said, going back to her and presumably abandoning the Core Four might negate some of the goodwill. The franchise had always been able to look forward, and of late, had mixed old and new pretty well. Here? It seems like it’s mostly headed back, which could be a waste of Campbell, sadly.

Also of note is that the helmer is now the series’ original writer in Kevin Williamson. It’s a definite nod to the past, though the lack of experience is a change of pace from what the franchise has traditionally looked for. That’s part of what has me a bit more skeptical than usual here. He’s in many ways the voice of Scream, but can he take the next installment somewhere new?

Williamson directing and Campbell back to presumably star, makes me think that this is going to be a sequel less interested in reinventing the property and more about going backwards. I don’t mind fan service and nostalgia, of course, but Scream has usually been above that. The possibility that this could be a, frankly, boring sequel, well, it scares me.

As you can see, I’m still optimistic about the franchise, even without Landon. The thing is, Freaky especially showed me how capable he is of putting a new spin on it. Heart Eyes, which he co-wrote, is more evidence of that. Landon simply would knocked it out of the park. The direction we see in Drop, done with Ghostface, would have been a blast.

We’ll see how Scream 7 turns out, but we can only wonder about what might have been. Christopher Landon is still on the upswing of his career, so taking on Scream could have been something. Maybe one day he’ll just make his own slasher franchise? At this point, I do think he’s capable of just about anything, so we’ll see. Landon is fast becoming another genre master, so keep an eye on him…

So, here we are. Scream 7 feels like it could be a final installment for the series, which might not have been the case with the energy Landon would have brought. Kevin Williamson ending what Wes Craven began would make sense, but we’ll see. At the end of the day, the flick certainly can still be successful. It just had an inspired choice of filmmaker, one that they ultimately were not able to hold on to.

Next week I’ll be reviewing Scream 7 and re-ranking the franchise, so be on the lookout for that. Maybe the film will be great, maybe it will be bad, maybe something in between. Regardless, the movie will not have Landon at the helm, and that’s sad to me. Alas…

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!