Twenty-five years after a series of murders occurred in the small town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer takes on the infamous Ghostface mask to start targeting and attacking a group of teenagers. This is the basis for the new “Scream” movie.

“Scream” aired in theaters on Jan. 14, 2022, with a runtime of one hour and 54 minutes. 

There are some returning characters from the original ‘90s hit, including three of the main characters from the first “Scream” movie (and its three sequels). Neve Campbell is back in her role as Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox is news reporter Gale Weathers and David Arquette is former police officer Dewey Riley. There is even a character returning from the fourth movie, which is Judy Hicks, played by Marley Shelton.

New characters are also introduced along the way. The first character introduced is Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega. Her sister, Sam Carpenter, is played by Melissa Barrera; Sam’s boyfriend, Richie Kirsch, is played by Jack Quaid; and Tara’s best friend, Amber Freeman, is played by Mickey Madison. 

The movie opens the same way as the first “Scream” movie: a teenage girl, Tara Carpenter in this case, is home alone before getting a call from an anonymous person. After answering the phone, she gets attacked by someone wearing a Ghostface mask.

This spirals the rest of the movie into action as the characters try to figure out who Ghostface is and what their motive is. Some characters return to Woodsboro, while others never left. Together, and separately, they try to figure out who is behind the mask that is tormenting their town and the targeted group of teenagers. Some of their pasts come back to haunt them while they try to escape the killer and the town.

Many critics and audience members commented that this new movie calls back to its original that aired in 1996, saying the movie isn’t all that game-changing, but it is still a good and funny movie—all of which I can agree with. 

“Scream” is one of my all-time favorite movies and movie franchises. So, personally, I enjoyed the movie overall. I thought the acting was very well done with the dramatic emotion and strong character traits shown. The plotline also kept me on the edge of my seat as I tried to go into detective mode to figure out who the killer or killers were. In the end, I was sort of expecting the identity of Ghostface but was still a little surprised. I was excited going into the theater, and my expectations were pretty much entirely met by the end.

I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone even if you aren’t a horror movie fan. Although the first movie will always be my favorite, this movie is definitely my second or third favorite of the franchise.