That probably makes me part of the target audience for Scream 7, which opens in wide release today. It’s the seventh film in the franchise and comes 30 years after the original. It puts the focus back on Sidney Prescott—who was absent from the last film. It’s something of a re-boot, again, and a shift in direction after wholesale changes that happened following Scream VI.

The series brings back Williamson, who not only wrote the screenplay but directed the film. And it’s heavily reliant on nostalgia in its marketing and story. But does that make it worth the trip?

In the film, Sidney now goes by Mrs. Evans. She’s married to Mark (Joel McHale), the town police chief, and is the mother of three kids. The oldest of those, Tatum (Isabel May), was named after her best friend. Tatum is 17 years old—the same age Sidney was in our original film—and she has questions about her mother.

In some ways, Sidney’s life is an open book. She’s been written about, talked about, and the subject of films. But to Tatum, she’s a mystery. Sidney doesn’t like to talk about herself and her past, seemingly making her own daughter one of the few people in their small Indiana town that doesn’t know Sidney’s story.

Sidney has moved on. She’s running a small business, is a part of the community, and wants to put the past behind her. But that doesn’t seem to be possible, as a new string of murders—and a killer targeting her daughter—put her squarely back on the offensive.

There were a lot of things wrong with the marketing of this film. The trailer gives away the cold open almost in its entirety. It also spoils the fact that Matthew Lillard—one half of the original set of killers in the franchise—is back. If you managed to avoid the marketing, some of this might hit better. If not, then you certainly know at least some of what is coming.

One of the things that always set Scream apart for me was that it was a clever film. It had some clever lines, some clever pop culture references, and some solid humor. You’d hope to get that in this new film—especially with so much returning to the feel of the original, including the original writer. But this is a mostly humorless and joyless film. That’s a big part of its problem.

Despite that, I was still hanging with the film through the middle section. I was curious to see how they’d work out a seemingly ridiculous plot twist. But I enjoyed Campbell in the lead role, I like May as her daughter, and there were pieces that were fun. That included Courtney Cox showing up as Gale Weathers and Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding showing up as twins Mindy and Chad. In fact, some of the sequences with Mindy and Chad were the only lighter parts of the film. While pairing Gale and Sidney together on the hunt was interesting.

But it couldn’t be sustained. In addition to what I listed above, the marketing gives away key action sequences with Sidney and Tatum. That’s frustrating, but not a deal-breaker. However, as we hit the climax, it becomes clear the film doesn’t have anything constructive to say. The killer reveal was both predictable and underwhelming. One might even argue it makes no sense. It certainly brings the film home on a deflating note, no matter how you might have felt about what came before it.

This is a film built on nostalgia and emotionality that it doesn’t really pay off or earn over the course of its run time. I still like Campbell as Sidney Prescott, but I wish she’d been given a better film around her.

Scream 7 is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.