| Director | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy horror film, metafiction, slasher film |
| Runtime | 114 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $24 million |
| Box office | $138 million |
Twenty-five years after Billy Loomis and Stu Macher's killing spree in Woodsboro, high school student Tara Carpenter is home alone when she is attacked by Ghostface and left hospitalized.
In Modesto, Tara's estranged older sister Sam Carpenter is informed about the attack. She returns to Woodsboro with her boyfriend Richie Kirsch to visit Tara at the hospital. There, Sam is reunited with Tara's friend group: Wes Hicks, Liv McKenzie, Amber Freeman, and twins Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin. That night, Vince Schneider—Stu's nephew and Liv's ex-boyfriend—is killed by Ghostface. After an encounter with Ghostface at the hospital, Sam reveals to Tara that she has been dealing with hallucinations of Billy, who had an affair with their mother in high school and whom she discovered as a teenager was her biological father. Sam's discovery of her true parentage led to their parents' divorce and is the primary reason for her estrangement from Tara.
Sam and Richie seek help from Dewey Riley, who is now divorced from Gale Weathers. Dewey contacts Gale and Sidney Prescott to warn them about the return of Ghostface. He joins Sam and Richie at the Meeks twins' home, where he briefly reunites with their mother, Martha Meeks, Randy Meeks' sister. Mindy deduces that the killer is creating a "requel", targeting Tara and her friends as the new generation while using Sam's connection to Billy to lure the legacy survivors. Ghostface murders Wes and his mother, Sheriff Judy Hicks, a survivor of the 2011 murders, at their home. Dewey reunites with Gale, who has returned to town to cover the story. At the hospital, Tara and Richie are attacked by Ghostface but are saved by Dewey and Sam. The Carpenter sisters and Richie escape, but Dewey is killed when he attempts to finish off Ghostface.
Sidney arrives in town after learning of Dewey's death and meets Gale and Sam at the hospital. Sidney asks Sam to help stop Ghostface, but Sam declines, choosing to leave town with Richie and Tara. Sidney and Gale follow the trio to Amber's house, revealed to be Stu's former home, where the original Woodsboro massacre took place. During a party in Wes' honor, the Meeks twins are attacked by Ghostface. As the friend group gathers, Amber pulls out Dewey's gun and shoots Liv dead, revealing herself as Ghostface. Sidney and Gale arrive, and Richie is revealed to be Amber's accomplice. He stabs Sam, and together, he and Amber take Sam, Sidney, and Gale into the kitchen where Sidney first confronted Billy and Stu.
Richie and Amber explain that they are fans of the Stab film series who met online. Disappointed with the direction of the most recent Stab 8, they initiated a new killing spree to inspire a fresh installment based on true events and planned to frame Sam as the culprit. Sam attacks Richie, while Tara attacks Amber but is incapacitated. Sidney and Gale fight Amber, ending with Gale shooting Amber, causing her to fall onto a lit stove and catch fire. Richie chases Sam, who sees a hallucination of Billy that guides her to Amber's abandoned knife. Embracing her paternal legacy, Sam repeatedly stabs Richie and slits his throat before shooting him to ensure he is dead. A horribly burned Amber attempts to attack the group again, but is fatally shot by Tara.
Tara and the Meeks twins are taken to the hospital, while Sam thanks Sidney and Gale for their help. Gale decides not to write a book about the new murders to avoid giving the killers notoriety, opting instead to write a tribute to Dewey. Sam joins Tara in the ambulance as the night's events are reported on the news.