“Scream”, the word is in quotes so you don’t scream at me for writing this review.

Okay, sure. You may scream if there’s a random person in your house wearing a Ghostface and holding a knife poised to be plunged into your soon-to-be bloody body. Again, and again.

Scream because that’s the basic plotline for the “Scream” slasher horror movies, which first came out when R. Kelly and his music were “in”.

That’s in 1996, in case you’re confused about R. Kelly’s current popularity.

Even back then, as is the case now, the movie opens with a phone call. And yeah, the phone is still a landline.

Which makes absolutely sure that when the killer shows up, the young woman home alone when the phone rings doesn’t have any opportunity to attempt taking a selfie with the legendary Ghostface killer.

Anyway, back to the movie.

The young woman answers the phone and is immediately introduced to a game of movie trivia by some psychopath on the other end of the line.

The young woman is called Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) and she plays along by telling the caller that she prefers to watch an “elevated horror” film like "The Babadook".

I haven’t seen “The Babadook” but the psycho on the other end of the line believes Tara’s movie choice is simply to die for.

So, he tries to kill her, while decked out in a Ghostface outfit.

Tara survives.

When her estranged (and a little strange) sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) hears about this, she comes rushing back into town to be by Tara’s side.

The backstory of Sam is fairly creepy, if you scare easily. It turns out that Sam is short for Samantha.

If that’s not creepy enough, she is like Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) from the original “Scream” in that she has dark Mediterranean features.

What, that isn’t creepy to you?

I shall remind you that Neve Campbell’s film career is dead, so anyone who looks like her resembles a filmic corpse.

Anyway, Sam has some crazy-sad-shit family drama that forced her to leave her sister Tara back in “Scream”-ville.

The new killer seems to be so heavily invested in this crazy-sad-shit, so s/he attacks Tara to lure Sam back home.

Sam shows up with her dude Richie (Jack Quaid) while Ghostface continues cutting people up like he thinks it’s their birthday and they are the cake.

Sam and Richie need some answers, so they go to the original “Scream” cast member Deputy Dewey (David Arquette).

At that point, the old merges with the new as Dewey calls Sidney (and simultaneously raises Neve Campbell from the dead).

He also texts Gale (Courteney Cox).

It is at this point that I interrupt this review for a special announcement: Courteney Cox’s plastic surgery turns her face into a horror within a horror.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Heather Graham reprises her role as policewoman (she’s now sheriff) Casey Becker. Although she’s not the stunning hottie she used to be, she’s still a hot mama.

There’s no needless bloodletting, thank God. Besides, the set pieces are enough to fill you with dread.

Also, the violent energy builds up in the death sequences with an ironic twist here and a wink there.

Deputy Dewey dials up the curiosity value of who exactly the killer might be, while keeping you longing for his and Gale’s love to go somewhere beyond him pretending not to realise how bad Courteney Cox’s plastic surgery is.

Run time: 1h 54m