"Sequels suck!"      

SCREAM 2 (R) 

Two years after the gruesome Woodsboro High murders, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) run for their lives once again.  This time, they're dealing with a "copycat killer," some serial slasher intent on making a real-life sequel out of the Woodsboro killings.  So, what are the "rules" for horror sequels (besides the fact that they're never as good as the original)?  Less originality, higher body count, more gore? 

For me, the most interesting part of Scream was its sassy, satirical attitude towards the horror genre.  Scream's shocking opening sequence, its witty dialog, and its penchant for creative death scenes (remember the garage door?) made it both scary and funny.  Well, Scream 2 desperately tries to recapture the energy of this unique formula, but with mixed success.  Yes it's sassy, yes it's satirical and yes there are plenty of kills, but the originality--the novelty--so abundant in the original Scream isn't quite there anymore. 

Maybe writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven were just trying too hard.  In Scream 2, they spend so much time satirizing themselves and others that the "scare" part of the equation suffers.  In fact, the deaths in Scream 2 are more "gruesome" than "scary," which is a disappointment.  Nope, not once did I jump out of my seat in Scream 2, and isn't this really why we go to horror films?

Still, given all of these quibbles it's probably to Williamson and Craven's credit that Scream 2 remains a relatively watchable film.  With so many suspicious characters in this film, you'll surely be guessing at "whodunnit?" until the end.  And fortunately, this name-dropping, pop-culture-teasing script is one that knows how to have fun.  Be warned though--even the best jokes can only be told so many times before it stops becoming funny...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

traviskaram@yahoo.com gives this movie  star: "I guess that's what it would be. I haven't seen it and i don't intend to but I needed a movie that involves teenagers so I thought why not do screm 2. theres lots on the internet about it. So who needs to watch it. Well maybe one day...NOT!!!!" (11/17/99)

jessfroggy@prodigy.net gives this movie  stars: "I was dissappointed with sream2 probally cuz sream one was so great. The opening scene was again fantastic. The ending was even more of a surprise than the first, but the plot fell through and the murders were so predictable. I still look forward to Scream 3" (8/18/99)

ShadowRaider_98@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "You 5-star and 4-star raters suck! The first Scream was better, not the second one. And who in the hell cast Sarah Michelle Gellar in it? She sucks all ass by herself (no offense intended), even her Buffy show sucks, that dirty hack! God help me, let's there be no Scream 3... sincerely hogwash!" (6/24/99)

Pellegrino Randy gives this movie  stars: "What a movie, who would have thought Randy would have been killed... Now this is one of the only sequels that is better than the first movie. The only bad thing in the movie was that Randy died, he was so sympathic. I did like his talk to the killer. Besides don't you think that dewey has changed?" (12/29/98)

parry1@bigpond.com gives this movie  stars: "I thought this movie was a top notch thriller" (12/14/98)

wtch_dg7@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I think that Scream 1 was better. The plot holds itself together better in Scream 1 and the shocks are more shocking. There is also more of a mystery of who the killer(s) is(are)." (10/20/98)

orrbit@mfi.net gives this movie  stars: "The 1st one was better.Dewy Rules!!!" (10/10/98)

fwathley@taconic.net gives this movie  stars: "dude man the movie was da sh** yo i think that there should be another scream movie" (9/15/98)

jblock@sympatico.ca gives this movie  stars: "It was the coolest movie i've ever seen and so was the first one." (9/9/98)

scream2da@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "Scream 2 was way, way better than Scream, it is so entertaining, and more action than the first. The killer surprised me, it was fun guessing who is the killer, but you have to figure out at the end. I love Wes Craven movies, now, Kevin Williamson impresses me too. They are quite a team. Hope to see the third part of this movie next year. Scream movies are good work. I also include a sucess rate for I Know What You Did Last Summer." (9/7/98)

nickblaskowski@hotmail.com has changed his mind (see below) and now gives this movie  stars: "I'd like to rerate this,I've seen it on video thousands of times and saw it at the movies,now that I've seen it so much I think it's better.I own the first one and I'm going to bye this one.I loved Stab in this!" (8/26/98)

mary@broadcom.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie was the best movie I've ever like and the first scary movie that I don't fall asleep. It got me awake since the starting. Very interesting because I did not have any clue who was the killer and my husband didn't either, even though he told me he knew since the beginning, but he was just acting like a macho man. You know how that goes girls." (7/22/98)

Amy gives this movie  star: "u suck the 1st was better" (6/14/98)

Stephanie gives this movie  stars: "It is the best movie l ever seen in my life" (6/7/98)

wcwtom@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "I think it was great and scary it made me shiver in fright. I can,t belive that one of the killers was a woman. Well thats what I think about Scream 2. Have a good life and a good death. I,ll be back and kids put your parents to bed." (4/16/98)

mohame300@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "scream 2 was great. it was scary,funny,a little drama. it was great." (4/16/98)

nickblaskowski@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I saw it back in december! But I am still able to rate it. Wasn't that impressive,first one was better. But still if you liked the first one,you better not miss this one! I kind of thought this would be much better,it was dumb who the killer was,or maybe I didn't think it was too great because I was told who the killer was before i viewed it! It's kind of a flop,according to the first one!" (4/6/98)

shakespeares_ghost@usa.net gives this movie  stars: "Ok besides the fact that I am a horror movie fan and by nature sequels do tend to suck. I think that scream2 is brilliant!! The cast was great,brilliant director,and writer. (wes,kevin) This film captured all the greatness from the original but it did lack original death scenes with an exception of cece that was cool!! And in the famouse words of Randy never assume the killer is dead boys and girls. Watch for scream3 in fall of 1999." (3/26/98)

David Beirne gives this movie  stars: "This movie was one of the rare sequels that didn't suck ! It was one of the most clever movies ever made. The opening scene in the movie theatre when Maureen and Phil died while going to see Stab, the movie about the Woodsboro murders, was unbelievably clever ! The scene where Jada Pinkett ( now Smith ) dies was very clever as it all went in the same time as the Casey scene in the movie. Every stabbing, every scream went in time with Casey's on the screen. I also liked the clever ending. I won't give any spoilers just ie you haven't seen it yet. I thought the main killer was quite funny and this carries on the typical horror sequels. I laughed at this but I also thougtht it was er. I like how Craven used a variety of genres throughout the movie ( I'm not talking about a complete change. The horror/suspense genre was the genre of the movie, but he added some very witty lines, paying out other movies ). I am so pleased to see it do so well at the box office ( in Australia that is !) and it is good to see it rate up to the first one. When I saw it, opening day in Australia, the cinema was packed (mainly with big-lunged teenager girls). They screamed at every scary bit and this a enjoyment of the film. I liked how it had a different atmosphere to the first and I liked the characters more. I love Scream 2 !!! It's the best !!!" (1/23/98)

cus55@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "What makes Wes Craven and his new film "Scream 2" so enjoyable is that when the credits roll, and you walk out of the cinema, you just feel like running back in there and watching the movie all over again. And again. "Scream 2" is one of those movies which contained so many hidden clues and so many jokes that one has to see it again to gather all the knowledge they can about the film. Despite the possibility that, yes, it could be seen to be not as *original* as Scream (which I believe is only the case because when "Scream" came out, it was the first good horror movie in 20 years) is so fun to watch and so goddamn entertaining that you can't help but sit back and enjoy the film. The cast was brilliant, the acting perfect for this film, there were so many suspects it was completely unpredictable, packed in with personal jokes such as "Sequels suck" (which, to me, is a sign that the movie is so confident that it feels that it will not be affected in the slightest because of its self-pay-outs) and, as with the first film, it contained some scary scenes, made you jump, gasp, and crack into laughter all at once. I think what made "Scream 2" so enthralling was the opening scene. You can't get any more clever playing the Drew Barrymore scene from the original on the screen (hammed up, of course) while the victim is a person watching it in the cinema; with everyone in the audience wearing a franchise "Scream" mask, making it impossible to point out who the killer is. Jada Pinkett was amazing. She played her role to such a comedic and innocent perfection that you had to feel sorry for her when the title card came up. With Neve Campbell and Courtenay Cox putting in performances far superior to the first film, "Scream 2" is right up there with "Aliens" and "The Empire Strikes Back" as a sequel which is just as good, if not better than the original. Sequels do definitely not suck." (1/15/98)

Renee gives this film  stars: "I don't understand everyone's disappointment, I saw it the night it came out and I actually liked it!" (1/7/98)