Scream 2 (R)
Cast: Neve Cambell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Jada Pinkett
Review: *** out of ****
Scream 2 is an exceptional sequel, which will entertain the target audience, but it still failed to match the excitement and entertainment levels of the original. As one charaacter observes, "sequels are hardly EVER better than their predecessors. Even by name, they are inferior". Just because Scream 2 can point out and mock the poor reputation of sequels in Hollywood, does not mean that it is above the rules in any way. Scream 2 also follows the rules on how to make a successful sequel; the body count is bigger, the death scenes are much more elaborate, and the film is much gorier than the original. But, in a sense, the violence was unnecesary. It seemed forced in a movie that was too smart to need it.
All the survivors from the original, including Sidney Prescott (Cambell), Gale Weathers (Cox), Dewey Riley (Arquette), and Randy (Kennedy) are back, being stalked (and some of them slashed) by a new knife wielding maniac on a college campus. The most amusing aspect of Kevin Williamson's diabolical screenplay would be the movie within a movie, called Stab, based on a book by Gale Weathers, which is based on the "true" story of the events in the original Scream. (Tori Spelling, in one of the film's several "in jokes" plays Sidney Prescott, and Heather Graham from Boogie Nights, plays Casey Becker) Another amusing aspect is that the film school students often engage themselves in arguments on whether any sequel has EVER been as good as the original...while Scream 2 does not become one of the selected few, it definitely comes close.
Scream 2 is filled with self references to the horror genre and horror sequels, just like the original, but unlike the original, the target for Williamson's darkly funny criticism has been extended to a higher level. The criticism has now broadened to our society, and how we allow movies to effect it. The killer, when finally revealed, plans to blame the movies on his psychotic behavior ("Bob Dole can testify in my defense, Johnny Cochran can defend me...hell, the Christian Coalition will pay for my defense"). What makes his motive and plan so scary is that...it would probably work.
This, of course, is not meant to downplay the horror of Scream 2- Ghostface Killer keeps popping out of the shadows in the most unconvenient places, and the students around the campus start dropping like flys, in very brutal ways, as a copycat killer, intent on finishing what was started two years ago, wreaks some havoc on Sidney and her friends. On top of being funnier than the original, Scream 2 is also a lot scarier, (There's a scene that involves a car and an unwelcome criver that had me cowering down in my seat) and can be classified as the perfect date movie.
So it's funny and scary, but also surprisingly character driven. Sidney Prescott is a strong willed heroine that we can root for, and the spirited ensemble packs a real punch. But Courteny Cox, as Gale Weathers, truly steals the show. She's as hard core and ambitious as ever, and when she finally lightens up, you can sense a real character change that many seasoned drama writers can not achieve. The next best character would be the slightly disabled Dewey; the scenes shared by Gale and the local deputy are among the best in the movie.
Ah, we can't let this review close without a nod to Wes Craven, whose directing job here is a lot more creative and crisp than in Scream...in fact, his work in Scream 2 is the best he's ever done. His command of the camera (and the audience) makes every scene, whether dark or light, seem suspenseful. If Wes could pull off some more jobs with the quality of Scream 2, his name might get ranked up with such horror masters as Alfred Hitchcock.
But with this tongue-in-cheek humor and terror comes the movie's downfall. In the final fifteen minutes, when the killer(s) is finally revealed, the film starts to fall apart. The social commentary starts to kick in, but that's when Scream 2 stops being scary, and loses its bite. Still, the other 90 minutes, written with knowledge and wit, are deviating and entertaining enough to let you look over such minor details as...the ending.