Scream 2 (1997) Reviews

• Wonderful sequel that is the perfect bedfellow for the first film.

  Spikeopath2008-03-04

  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

• Flawles but yet enjoyable horror slasher sequel flick

  ivo-cobra82018-02-18

  Scream 2 is flawless but enjoyable sequel it is not better than the first one but much way better than part 4. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson does return for this sequel but still I enjoy the third one much way more. The second sequel was good little different mixed with action and humor, but it wasn't that scary to me. It is really a step down from the first film. I have a lot of problems with this film. The bad: The writer Kevin Williamson copied the first film why would they copy the first film? I don't get it. The film looks like the same as the first movie, first the name of the town was Windsor like in the first movie Woodsboro: Then the victims were killed whit the same names and surnames the same emo from the first killer. Than was a copy killer on the loose and than they were like two killers just one wants to get away, the other wants to get caught. Deputy Sheriff David Arquette as Dewey Riley did do nothing in this movie and he was useless in this film! He was complaining, yelling and did do nothing, he was slashed but yet again he survived, how did he survive? or why is he in this movie is yet beyond me. Kevin Williamson wrote his character dull and awful. Marco Beltrami copied and stole the theme music score from Hans Zimmer music score for Broken Arrow (1996) John Woo film. The humor I didn't like in here and I didn't like they were talking about Stab fictional movie in this film that was based on Scream film. Jada Pinkett Smith was in the beginning in this film and she was terrible. Most of the characters in this film are awful. The good: I love the ghostface killer in this movie and he doesn't use so much scary movies questions like in the first movie, he simply kills fast his victims. I love Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott she was lovely, such a sole survivor, such a bad-ass even more sexy than in the first film. Her ass was sexy, man o man she was hot! I fall in love with her, I did enjoy her performance as Sidney. I enjoy Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers this time she had a different hair cut but she was still good in her performance as a nosy tabloid reporter. The most hero I enjoy in this movie is Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary he is awesome!!! A true real hero he is excellent! I really did enjoy the plot twist and his character. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Casey "Cici" Cooper is in here she is really good and Timothy Olyphant as Mickey from Live Free or Die Hard is in here! The cast work really well. 8/10 It is a good slasher horror movie and a good sequel to the first one I still watch this films, I like this film and the trilogy. I like the song "She Said by Collective Soul excellent song. My third favorite film in the series but still a good one, doesn't deserve the hate.

• Incredibly surpassing sequel

  Dragoneyed3632008-05-24

  After the Scream phenomenon, it was only natural that a sequel was in the works. While most slasher sequels tend to be a let down and not live up to their first by having a ridiculous premise or not having the needed characters, Scream 2 is entirely different. This sequel was excellent, and lived up to the first Scream perfectly, when I did not think it would on first viewing. I mean, I was expecting it to be good, but not as good as it was. It's premise was wonderful, and the characters are amazing, because it has all the characters, that aren't already victims, from the first and more that are just as fun. All in all, it was a joyous outcome. Scream 2 is not afraid to kill off whoever it wants to, like the one before and after it, even though that one does not have as many fans as the first two. It has some new twists, and the execution style is just as professional and cunning as the first. It keeps you totally entertained and the performances are just as fun. While of course it is not as good as the original, it is pretty close, I must say, and that of course is an accomplishment in itself. After the events of Woodsboro, California, Sidney and Randy soon realize that a killer is on the loose again, this time at the college they are attending in Ohio. Dewey arrives on the campus to once again protect Sidney, and she and Dewey have an unwelcome reunion with Gale. How pleasant, we have all our old friends back, and the cast pulls out all the stops with their characters like they did in the first. It's still gritty and bloody, and it's also loaded with lots of nice material matter. I do not understand why it is not as appreciated as it is, regarding the rating mostly. Scream fans and horror lovers were all pleased with this movie when it came out, so I have heard, and I was as well.

• A pretty good sequel

  jellyneckr2005-06-10

  In addition to becoming the first major box office hit for Dimension Films, 1996's SCREAM also became the horror film that would set the tone for the other horror films of the late 1990s. It was a phenomenal achievement in the horror genre so of coarse a sequel was just around the corner. The most common rule with movies is that sequels are terrible and while that is normally always true, that isn't the case with SCREAM 2. It should be noted that SCREAM 2 came out just a year after the original SCREAM. Most often when sequels come out a year after their predecessor, they turn out to be pretty bad (CHILD'S PLAY 3 for example). SCREAM 2, while not as good as SCREAM, manages to be an effective and well made sequel that surprisingly is just as clever as the first one and it contains the same kind of great dialogue the first one had as well. It helps that SCREAM 2 has most of the same cast members as the first one too. I think it's safe to say that SCREAM 2 was one of the better sequels of the 1990s. I'm giving it 7/10. Recommended for fans of horror.

• Better than the first!

  Xophianic2000-02-06

  I really enjoyed SCREAM because I thought it was a very original horror movie. I liked SCREAM 2 for the same reason. The story line is pretty much the same as in SCREAM, but I thought the acting, characters, and death scenes were all better. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has gone off to college to become and actress. Now that she has left her past behind her, she is doing better. She has a new best friend/roommate named Hallie (Elise Neal), a new boyfriend and a new life. But when somebody starts killing people in the same style of the killer, Sidney finds out that her past has come back to haunt her. Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), old prime suspect proven innocent of the murder of Sidney's mom from SCREAM, returns to try and get publicity for his part in all of this. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) returns as the movie expert and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) return to try and protect Sidney. The plot is pretty much the same as SCREAM, but instead of poking fun of horror movies, they poke fun at sequels. When the college students argue about whether sequels can be better than the original, it's priceless. The acting is even better in this movie than in SCREAM. Neve Campbell does her usual teriffic job. David Arquette and Courtney Cox are even better in SCREAM 2 than they are in SCREAM. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jada Pinkett are the equivilant of Drew Barrymore in SCREAM. They both do fair jobs, especially Sarah. Liev Schreiber and Jamie Kennedy do great jobs, and Roger L. Jackson returns at the bitchin' phone voice. (By the way, in a movie full of the biggest teenage stars of today, Joshua Jackson has a good cameo.) The character development is even better in SCREAM. You will, once again, find yourself screaming at the characters to run and get away. Sidney and Gale are just as cool as they were in the first one. Dewey and Randy are both extremely better characters in this one than in SCREAM. In SCREAM, Randy was annoying and an almost pointless character. In SCREAM 2, he's my favorite. The addition of Cotton Weary in this movie is suberb. I thought SCREAM 2 was better than SCREAM. Most people will think it is just as good or almost as good as SCREAM. If you didn't like SCREAM, don't bother watching SCREAM 2. But if you, like me, enjoyed SCREAM, this is a must-see.