When Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter of Scream (1996) (and Scream 2, and Scream 4 (2011)), was working on the film's script, he conceived it as the first part of a trilogy. When Miramax purchased his script, they simultaneously signed a contract for two sequels. The work on Scream 2 began while Scream was still enjoying its highly successful theatrical run. Wes Craven returned as the director, Marco Beltrami, as the composer, and all of the surviving characters were to be played by the same actors as in the original movie.
In other words, in 1997, in Los Angeles, California and in Atlanta, Georgia you could observe an unusually perfect set of circumstances. Conditions for making a sequel just do not get more auspicious - so why isn't Scream 2 a better film?
The strong appeal of Scream was based on, among other factors, its skillful use of 'whodunnit' logic: we are deeply invested into finding out who the killer is, we care about the persons involved, we are trying our best to remember that anyone - save for 'final girl' Sidney Prescott - can be the culprit. With Scream 2, that approach only goes so far. We start on an uneven footing with the characters, some of whom are familiar (the principal cast of Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Jamie Kennedy) and 'safe', while the rest are newly-introduced and comparatively less important. Who'd done it? More like, 'Who cares?'
This is not to suggest that Scream 2 is without merit. Neve Campbell delivers a beautiful performance as the lead, and Liev Schreiber - now equipped with lines of dialogue! - provides the most interesting addition to the franchise. His character remains the source of ambiguity within the narrative and its otherwise clear-cut distribution of morals.
Scream 2 has also been graced by the fleeting presence of Luke Wilson (was he more or less famous than Skeet Ulrich at the time?), Tori Spelling (was her disastrous acting intentional, provided as further satire of slasher films?), Heather Graham (lovely, but no Drew Barrymore), yet-unknown Portia de Rossi, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The latter stars in the film's intro, which parallels Barrymore's involvement in the first Scream but, being narratively removed from the rest of the events, does not carry the same impact. The voiced commentary on the involvement of Black characters in horror movies remains a side note.
There is less consistency and madness, so a higher body count amounts to little but figures on a blackboard, in a dark lecture theatre, where the characters should find their doom. (They do not. That is disappointing.) Where Scream succeeds in being both a collection of references and an independent story, Scream 2 goes to show that self-awareness is a poor substitute for originality.
In other words, in 1997, in Los Angeles, California and in Atlanta, Georgia you could observe an unusually perfect set of circumstances. Conditions for making a sequel just do not get more auspicious - so why isn't Scream 2 a better film?
The strong appeal of Scream was based on, among other factors, its skillful use of 'whodunnit' logic: we are deeply invested into finding out who the killer is, we care about the persons involved, we are trying our best to remember that anyone - save for 'final girl' Sidney Prescott - can be the culprit. With Scream 2, that approach only goes so far. We start on an uneven footing with the characters, some of whom are familiar (the principal cast of Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Jamie Kennedy) and 'safe', while the rest are newly-introduced and comparatively less important. Who'd done it? More like, 'Who cares?'
This is not to suggest that Scream 2 is without merit. Neve Campbell delivers a beautiful performance as the lead, and Liev Schreiber - now equipped with lines of dialogue! - provides the most interesting addition to the franchise. His character remains the source of ambiguity within the narrative and its otherwise clear-cut distribution of morals.
Scream 2 has also been graced by the fleeting presence of Luke Wilson (was he more or less famous than Skeet Ulrich at the time?), Tori Spelling (was her disastrous acting intentional, provided as further satire of slasher films?), Heather Graham (lovely, but no Drew Barrymore), yet-unknown Portia de Rossi, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The latter stars in the film's intro, which parallels Barrymore's involvement in the first Scream but, being narratively removed from the rest of the events, does not carry the same impact. The voiced commentary on the involvement of Black characters in horror movies remains a side note.
There is less consistency and madness, so a higher body count amounts to little but figures on a blackboard, in a dark lecture theatre, where the characters should find their doom. (They do not. That is disappointing.) Where Scream succeeds in being both a collection of references and an independent story, Scream 2 goes to show that self-awareness is a poor substitute for originality.