Scream 2

If you thought that slasher movie sequels could be nothing more than an inferior continuation to the original and provide nothing new or innovative, "Scream 2" is here to prove you wrong. The entertaining characters, suspenseful directing and unique kind of meta humor that you loved from the original are back and combined with an exciting new plot, proving that even slasher movie sequels can be great as long as there's enough care and passion put into them.

'Scream 2' was the sequel to 'Scream', made only a year after its predecessor, it was clearly in high demand.

It was a good film overall, it certainly would not be added to the long list of sequels which didn't live up to their previous films - as it is discussed IN the film. Again, the references to movie cliché's and common movie stereotypes and rules is very interesting and can be really funny as you find yourself agreeing with the characters when they discuss films. Wes Craven created a very worthy sequel, the dialogue, as with the first one, was probably the strength of the film. Neve Campbell's role was pretty much the same with no huge development in her character but she performed well and kept her acting up to the same standard as in 'Scream'. The two recurring characters who really out-did themselves in this film were Courtney Cox and David Arquette, both their characters developed substantially in this film and both actors did so very well.

The script was well done but was slightly more predictable this time. When it came to who the killer eventually was, you had already worked out this because they had been absent for no apparent reason from the story for over half an hour. However, Craven did add some surprises and there were aspects of the story - both funny and scary - that you did not see coming. There was a lot more violence in this film and the body count is bigger as stated in the trailer, this film is definitely more horror than black comedy but there are some really great scenes featuring both.

Overall, 'Scream 2' is not as good as the first one but it is still definitely worth a watch. Don't watch this unless you have watched the first one because you will be lost within the opening minutes of the film.

How do you make a sequel to a horror film whose whole plot was made of in-jokes and film references? Easy: make the follow-up even more in-jokey and self-referential than its predecessor. This formula actually seems to work for Scream 2, at least in the first two acts.

The prologue is arguably a masterclass in self-irony: an African-American couple (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett Smith) go to a movie theater where a new horror film, called Stab, is screening. This flick is based on Gale Weathers' (Courtney Cox) book The Woodsboro Murders, which recounts the events of the first Scream. As the movie begins, Smith's character complains about Stab being a film "with no black people in it" (just like Scream was), and, predictably, this leads to the two African-Americans being brutally murdered as the film-within-a-film's prologue (with Heather Graham replacing Drew Barrymore) is shown on the screen, so that the fictional and real deaths occur almost simultaneously. From there on, things take the usual turn: the media go crazy about the killings and once again Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is in the spotlight, as she and her friend Randy (Jamie Kennedy) must protect themselves from the new foe, who is apparently mimicking what happened in the past (an obvious reference to the first film's "Movies don't create psychos" line).

The main charm of the original Scream was its ability to almost seamlessly combine clever in-jokes and a believable plot. This time around, the in-jokes are the best thing in the movie, while the story, particularly in the overblown conclusion, suffers from merely repeating key scenes from the first film. Now, this might be a satire on the lack of originality in most horror sequels, and it would work if the characters were developed correctly. Sadly, such a thing doesn't happen, with Sidney being reduced to the usual girl who keeps running and screaming (fitting, huh?) and everyone else (including Liev Schreiber, who gets more screen-time in the sequel) playing stereotypes, with the exception of David Arquette, very likable as the nice cop again trying to solve the case, and Kennedy, who has a great time stating the rules to follow in a sequel.

Ironically, the movie's funniest scene has a bunch of film students discussing follow-ups that are better than the originals. And while few could have anything bad to say about Aliens, Terminator 2 or The Godfather: Part II, it must be said that Scream 2, while fun and watchable, most certainly doesn't have the same sharpness that made its predecessor an above-average horror film.

I'm just not buying into the bad rating for this film, in 1996 Wes Craven's Scream reinvigorated an ailing genre and got fans back into the horror groove. The love for that film, I feel, tends to skew opinions of the second instalment in what became the Scream foursome, Scream 2 seams perfectly from its starting point to up the daring ante, and plonk tongue even further into its cheek in the process.

Sidney Prescott has moved on from the horrendous murders in Woodsboro and is at college getting on with her life, but the peace and hope for a bright future is quickly shattered because the Scream killer is back for more carnage...

The film's opening perfectly sets out the tone for the entire picture, we see a cinema full of fake knife wielding youths dressed as the Scream killer, the film they are watching is Stab, the story of the Woodsboro murders. It's a wry commentary moment from Wes Craven, but in truth it's just one of many he makes in the film, the in jokes about sequels never gets tired, and the boo jump scare moments are all there to enjoy. Red Herrings come and go, and all the great characters who survived the first film are back again. Dewey & Gale get fleshed out a bit more, and one time caged innocent (and chief suspect) Cotton Weary is now a major character just begging us to find out if he's hero or villain.

This is a sharply scripted piece of work, it knows its aims and delivers what it sets out to do, it benefits from a brilliant sound mix to emphasise the mayhem, and Craven is something of a master in racking up the tension. To laugh and be scared is the order of the day, so sit back and enjoy a film that to me proves that not all sequels suck. Oh the ending does not disappoint at all either I have to say.

Scream 2 is a very worthy and enjoyable companion piece to the first film, very much so. 8/10

Director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson re-teamed for this unneeded but entertaining sequel. Also returning is a majority of the original cast (Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, and Liev Schreiber), where the story picks up two years later with Campbell attending college when a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and stalks her and her college pals. As with the first film, everyone is a suspect and most importantly the film strikes a nice tonal balance of mocking slasher film conventions while also delivering the slasher film goods. Jamie Kennedy's video store clerk, now a film school student, at one point explains the rules for horror sequels, stating "there are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate - more blood, more gore - *carnage candy*. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead." and "Scream 2" delivers on all three of these points. Besides meeting those sequel requirements, Craven is a master of suspense and shock and as with the first film, for a mainstream picture, he does deliver a shockingly rough horror film. Craven actually had to submit eight different cuts to the MPAA before getting an R-rating, so there's no mistaking that this film was from the same guy who made "The Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes." The film is also immensely helped by a strong cast of new characters that include Jada Pinkett, Omar Epps, Sarah Michelle Gellar (interestingly playing a helpless blond character-type, the antithesis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which she was playing at this same time), Timothy Olyphant, Jerry O'Connell, Laurie Metcalf, Rebecca Gayheart, an unrecognizable Portia de Rossi, and the great David Warner in a small role as a drama teacher. Best of all are the very funny cameos for the movie-within-a-movie "Stab," where Heather Graham plays the Drew Barrymore part form the first film and Tori Spelling & Luke Wilson play Campbell and Skeet Ulrich's parts (an inside joke from the first film where one of Campbell's friends asks her "If they make a movie about you, who's gonna play you?" and she answers, "With my luck, they'd cast Tori Spelling."). Look fast for a before-he-was-famous Adam Shankman as a Ghost Dancer and Selma Blair has an uncredited appearance (or is heard) as Gellar's friend on the phone. Also, the film was edited by Patrick Lussier, who'd later go on to direct the solid "My Bloody Valentine" remake, Nic Cage's "Drive Angry," and was co-writer on under appreciated Terminator sequel "Terminator Genisys." My main complaint about the film is that Williamson's script hasn't aged all that well, seeming at bit too clever for itself, reminding me in many ways of the endless Tarantino wannabes of this era, where pop culture references were lazy substitutes for good dialogue, interesting characters, or original stories. Still, while this sequel basically covers the same ground of the first film, it's a strong cast with a talented director making a big budget slasher film, which is not something horror fans are treated to very often. FUN FACT! Robert Rodriguez ("Desperado" "Sin City" "Machete") directed scenes of "Stab", the movie-within-a-movie.