“Scream 5,” released in theaters on Tuesday, Jan. 14, traces back to the original “Scream” by releasing it after its 25th anniversary. Rather than leaving audiences in trembles, “Scream 5” ends on a more hilarious note.

Ghostface is back in Woodsboro targeting Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega, and her clan of high school friends. Tara survives the Ghostface attack which drives her older sister Sam, played by Melissa Barrera, back into town along with her boyfriend Richie, played by Jack Quaid. As soon as Sam comes back into Woodsboro, a surprising truth is uncovered leading to a purge in attacks and murders led by the masked killer or killers.

One thing in common with all the murders and attacks is they all have connections to the original Scream cast. Although we are reintroduced to original characters of the Scream franchise, this sequel still feels relatively fresh. This is due to new characters and plot twists that attract new generations and audiences into the franchise.

What did feel rather strange from this Scream, compared to its predecessors, is the lack of fear and jump scares. Instead, it was less of a horror film and more of a suspense thriller, as viewers struggle to piece ‘whodunnit.’ Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett insinuate tricks on viewers by raising the music to a crescendo, and finishing with nothing happening. This tactic is in hopes to surprise audiences to when a murder is to strike, yet when the murders do occur they are blatantly visible.

The movie was at a good length coming at around an hour and 54 minutes, but certain scenes felt dry and stretched out when the fluff could have been removed. Character exchanges felt unnecessary at times and added nothing of real value to the movie, such as Amber and Richie poking jokes at each other in the hospital.

The acting of young rising stars, such as Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Mikey Madison and Melissa Barrera felt natural and flowed properly with the film. The actors provided effective chemistry between their character interactions.

General overview from movie rating websites is pretty positive on “Scream 5,” coming in at 78 percent on the Tomatometer and 82 percent on Audience Score by Rotten Tomatoes. The critics consensus said, “T Scream finds the franchise working harder than ever to maintain its meta edge — and succeeding surprisingly often.” IMDb rates it 7.1 out of 10, with a majority of 23.1 percent of 34,962 IMDb users rating it a score of seven.

Overall, the experience of watching Scream in theaters was pleasant, as the audience became captivated and intrigued with the plot by trying to piece the film together.

The plot takes surprising twists and turns that the audience does not expect in the everlasting plot through revealing Ghostface. The movie is witty and creative in gearing “Scream” towards a new, younger audience while remaining true to the original in its own way.

Despite not being hyper terrifying like prior “Scream” movies, “Scream 5” brings together a new crowd to enjoy the world-renowned movie series. Fans of this franchise speculate if a “Scream 6” will be released.