Review of Scream 2 (1997) by C.r. L — 27 Aug 2011

It has been a year since the events at Woodsboro. A year since a psychotic killer went on a rampage sending a wave of fear and paranoia through a once peaceful town. The hero Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has survived her ordeal but left emotionally scarred and despondent she is now attending Windsor College in Ohio with one of the survivors of the Woodsboro murders, Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) the ultimate horror movie guide who narrowly escaped with his life after his previous encounter with Ghostface. Sidney and Randy are just trying to get on with there lives and put the past behind them trying to forget the painful memories of those that they lost a year ago. But the past never stays dead and nor does a killer as it is seems someone has taken up the mantle of the Ghostface killer once again and is seeking revenge on the survivors of the Woodsboro killings. Could it be the killer come back to life? Alternatively, is it someone else who has once again taken there love of scary movies one-step too far?

"Scream 2" starts off with slam bang opening a young African American couple(Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett Smith) are brutally murdered at the premiere of the new slasher flick "STAB" and it seems that someone has taken up the mantle of Ghostface once again. This slam bang, home run sequel from Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson is in a rare group, it is a sequel that is more intelligent, far more brutal, and hilarious the groundbreaking original. "Scream 2" in lack of better words is a standard order run of the mill sequel where the kills are bloodier and the deaths are more elaborate the only thing that separates this sequel from others of its kind is the simple fact that this sequel has a brain. This film is not just some mindless exploitative slasher sequel that you commonly find with films of the horror genre like "SAW", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Halloween", "Friday the 13th" and "Psycho"(Yes the great "Psycho" had sequels). "Scream 2" improves on the original by widening the scope of the story and setting it in a more spacious location than the small town from the first film this time around. It is set at a college; another overly used location from horror films such as "Sorority Row," the only difference is that the college setting only enhances the tension and the suspense of the film giving it an eerier feel a more malevolent air of menace and chaos. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson improves on his ingenious idea with an even more ingenious second entry. "Scream 2" is every horror fans dream a sequel that actually lives up to the original and in some ways surpasses it this film not only lives up to its ever so illustrious title but it further breaks down the walls surrounding the clichés of the horror genre. Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson have crafted an ever so ingenious sequel that takes the clichés of horror sequels and brings them front and center in this inventive, macabre follow up to the smash hit cult classic.

"Scream 2" is a smart blend of horror laughs and inside jokes, Kevin Williamson's screenplay is tight, intelligent, and ever so clever. This film does not rely on using as many horror clichés as the original; instead Williamson and Craven put there heads together and create a film that not only lives up to the cult classic "Scream"(1996) we are in a rare territory where the sequel surpasses the original "Scream 2" is one of the best horror sequels ever made. This film is a true testament that a good high quality horror sequel is possible all that needed is a clever, inventive script a good director and a top-notch cast, put them together and what do you get? "Scream 2.".

In the first "Scream" Neve Campbell was much more of a quiet and reserved girl just trying to get by after the events of the Woodsboro's killings her personality has changed drastically Campbell's character Sidney Prescott has become a darker, stronger more resourceful young women than how she was a year earlier. Campbell never makes Sidney a damsel in distress she instead takes her character down the path that very few women in horror films ever get to travel. In "Scream 2" Sidney is a fighter a hero someone who is tough enough to stare down a lunatic in a Ghostface mask and laugh at him (Figuratively speaking). Campbell again up plays Sidney as the quintessential horror heroine except this time around Sidney is not only the hunted she is the hunter she fights back against Ghostface and gives it her all to try to unmask this whacked out lunatic with a hard on to for her blood. Craven's sharp direction and Williamson's tightly wound script help push Campbell and her character Sidney a force to recon with; the rest of the cast including Jamie Kennedy , David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Timothy Olyphant, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jerry O'Connell, Liev Schreiber and Sarah Michelle Gellar deliver fine supporting performances in this bloody good slasher flick.

"Scream 2" is the kind of film that not only die-hard horror fans can enjoy but also those who don't even like horror can enjoy these delightful films. "Scream 2" is a cut above other sequels and a massive cut above most horror films it does not take the same route as most horror sequels. That is admirable and gives this brash horror/satire a unique feel that most horror films cannot beat and thanks to Kevin Williamson's inventive script and quick-witted dialogue, "Scream 2" becomes one of the best sequels ever made.

3 1/2 stars: Someone has taken there love of sequels too far.