25 years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. A film by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, starring Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Roger L. Jackson, Heather Matarazzo, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell.

25 years after the terrifying Woodsboro massacre, teenager Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) is viciously attacked by a masked assailant in the infamous Ghostface costume. The town is once again plunged into fear.

Tara’s estranged sister Sam (Melissa Barrera), now living in Modesto, is contacted by Tara’s best friend Wes (Dylan Minnette), who informs her of the attack. Sam rushes back to Woodsboro with her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid) to visit Tara at the hospital, where they meet Tara’s friends: Wes, Amber (Mikey Madison), Chad (Mason Gooding), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown).

That night, Sam is attacked by Ghostface at the hospital, forcing her to reveal a secret she has kept hidden from Tara: her biological father is Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) , one of the serial killers of the Woodsboro massacre. Sam holds herself responsible for their parents’ separation and estrangement from Tara, fearing that she will one day become like her father.

Sam enlists the help of Dewey (David Arquette), a retired police officer who survived the Woodsboro massacre, to track down the real killer as the new victims emerge, all seemingly connected to the assailant.

I love how the film evokes the opening scene of the 1996 original, in which the assailant calls the victim on a landline (even though it’s 2022 and nobody uses landlines anymore) and asks her classic question, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” The victim’s answer, The BABADOOK, a psychological horror film, is a testament to how the horror genre has evolved in the past 25 years.

The SCREAM franchise’s in-universe counterpart, STAB, has reached its eighth installment, which has been met with critical derision for its subversive approach and abandonment of the franchise’s core elements, like STAR WARS: The Last Jedi. The filmmakers poke fun at themselves by stating that STAB 8 ditched the number in the title, just like the film SCREAM did.

Scream’s enduring appeal lies in its self-referential rules, which limit the pool of potential suspects to those related to the original massacre, working in pairs, and among the victim’s friends. However, these same rules have become a limitation for the franchise, preventing the filmmakers from creating truly unexpected twists.

Considering the franchise’s penchant for subversion, I anticipated that the filmmakers might reveal three assailants working together, but my prediction was only partially correct. Ultimately, the Scream reboot follows the same formula as the 1996 original, with only two killers. However, one key character is killed off in this film, which is a surprising twist, albeit one that may have been motivated by the actor’s desire to escape the repetitive role.

SCREAM was theatrically released in the United States on 14 January 2022, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed over $138 million worldwide against its $24 million budget. On 3 February 2022, Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures gave the green light to move forward with the next installment.