The horror franchise Scream revived the slasher genre from the late ‘90s, pulling in audiences around the world for a couple of hours of mystery and fright.

It’s been 11 years since a Scream movie last hit the big screen with “Scream 4”. Since then, lots of changes have occurred in the Scream franchise, the cinema world as a whole and the horror genre itself.

After the death of the horror-directing legend Wes Craven in 2015, Scream fans thought the franchise came to a conclusion. However, Spyglass Media Group confirmed the production of a new Scream movie on Nov. 6, 2019.

In 2020, Discussing Film confirmed Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella would be the directors of the filmmaking team and a new cast would star alongside the original actors Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette.

Anticipation exploded among the Scream fan base. When the movie was released on Jan. 14, nothing would be the same for the franchise.

“Scream” has always been known as a murder-slasher mystery with hints of inspiration from other horror films.

All of the scream characters headshots are panicked in front of a faded out larger image of "Ghostface" behind them. There is a glowing town with the naame "Woodsboro" below. The entire image is blue and black.

The official movie poster for “Scream (2022).”

“Scream (2022)” took those expectations and blew them out of the water.

It was heavily built off the original film from 1996, specifically bringing characters to the original murder house.

Scream fans couldn’t have been more ecstatic to see Neve Campbell reprise her role as Sidney Prescott, and seeing her dominate each of her scenes was inspiring and empowering. It is well known Neve Campbell has always been the original scream queen (pun intended).

Campbell, like usual, gives one of the best performances she could with what was written for her. Her character is fed-up and has built-up anger from her past experiences. She was the one that was more prepared than ever for the murders to start back up.

Sidney Prescott is one of the most well-written characters in the franchise. Prescott is intelligent and able to carry her own weight to be ready for anything. She cannot be underestimated.

Courtney Cox and David Arquette both bring stunning returns to their characters, as well.

They are able to answer the questions left behind in “Scream 4” and display how past actions affected their present. Through these displays, they are able to revamp those experiences to find the Ghostface killer for the fifth time.

The new cast for the movie includes Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Chad Meeks-Martin, Sonia Ben Ammar, Dylan Minnette, Melissa Barrera, Mikey Madison, Jack Quaid, Mason Gooding and Marley Shelton. Each of these actors’ performances are an acquired taste.

Ortega, Brown, Meeks-Martin, Madison, Quaid, Minnette and Shelton give good performances which hold their own weight in their scenes, and each have their own opportunities to shine.

Ammar, Barrera and Gooding tend to fall a bit short of entertaining.

Barrera’s scenes, for example, required a certain amount of emotion which was never reached. Her acting felt bland as if it was simply being read off the page, which broke the immersion of her important scenes.

Once you put the dull acting to the side, “Scream (2022)” offers lots of fun, intense climaxes, and quite a bit of strength among the group as we watch the protagonists fight in a life-or-death situation.

The opening scene itself even has a twist for the franchise. Getting to see the old actors and actresses back on the screen again is a rare opportunity for horror fans.

“Scream (2022)” also offers explanations for the unknowns of the characters from the other movies and brings brutal fight scenes to the franchise—which is something most fans look forward to the most.

The producers of “Scream (2022)” knew how to reach their audience with the goal of their movie.

The movie depicts references to complicated and recently-released art-horror films and tries to involve lessons from “requels” such as 2018’s “Halloween”. Essentially, these films feel like the originals but add twists and a more modern dynamic to their plotlines.

The creators of “Scream (2022)” noticed these new trends in horror films and used them to the best of their abilities.

When it comes to marketing, the film did a marvelous job. The marketing team made posters which were both fun to engage with, but also left you wondering who the killer is.

TikTok added the Ghostface as a new voice-over sound for anyone to use in collaboration with the movie’s promotion.

“Scream (2022)” has been doing better at the box office than its predecessor “Scream 4”.

The box office numbers surpassing $100 million and the constant social media obsessions with the new film suggest it is not one horror fans will want to miss.

Gabriel Kanae can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.