WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Sydney (Neve Campbell) and tabloid reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) survived the events of the first Scream, but their nightmare isn’t over. When two college students are murdered at a sneak preview of Stab, a movie based on the events from the first film, it’s clear a copycat killer is on the loose. Sydney and Gail, as well as fellow survivors Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) and Randy (Jamie Kennedy) have to find out who is behind this new murder spree, before they all end up dead.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Scream 2 has been more successful than any of us could have predicted! When Scream was first released in 1996, it changed the way we look at horror movies forever. Therefore, when it was announced that a sequel would be produced, many people believed that the film would not sustain the magic of its predecessor and would instead be a quick cash grab. But director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson came back with something that not only respected the original, it pushed the whole story further than most people thought possible. The film picks up two years after the Woodsboro murders. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is now a college student trying to build a normal life, which she honestly deserves after everything she went through. Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) are both still in the picture, and survivor Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) is right there on campus with Sidney. Things seem stable until they are not. A new Ghostface killer starts targeting students, and suddenly, Sidney is right back in the middle of chaos she never asked for. Before any of that unfolds, though, this movie delivers one of the best opening sequences in all of horror. College students Maureen and Phil (Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps) head to a packed theater to watch Stab, a Hollywood movie based on the Woodsboro murders. The place is loaded with rowdy fans dressed in Ghostface costumes, treating the whole thing like a party. But there is a real killer in that crowd. Phil gets murdered in the bathroom. Then Ghostface stabs Maureen right there in the middle of the theater, and nobody notices. They think it is part of the show. They cheer. They laugh. By the time anyone figures out what actually happened, it is already too late. That scene is one of the most powerful moments this franchise has ever produced. Pinkett Smith’s scream expresses terror, but it’s also filled with rage, hurt, and disbelief – indicative of someone who has been let down by everyone that they know. The image of Maureen crumpling to the floor in front of a massive theatre screen packed to the gills with spectators who do nothing will stick with you. It captures exactly what the film wants to say: that real tragedy gets swallowed up by entertainment, turned into a product, and the people actually suffering get left behind. That theme carries through the entire movie. Sidney keeps getting reminded that her pain has become everybody else’s story. A book was written about it. A movie got made from that book. Now there are copycat killers inspired by that movie. Her trauma keeps being packaged and sold while she just tries to survive. Craven puts Sidney in a theater production of a Greek myth about Cassandra, a woman who always told the truth but was never believed. This detail is intentionally displayed, as it ties directly back to the character of Sidney, someone who was always right but never received any recognition for being correct; thus, she was left alone to fight for her own life just because she was right in the past. The film does some more heavy lifting regarding returning characters, with Gale Weathers having a much more developed character arc than in the first movie; her character develops from solely being interested in a “scoop” to actually wanting to stop the killer herself, and the acceptance of her having developed this way seems completely warranted.Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), who Sidney falsely accused of killing her mother in the original, becomes one of the most interesting people in the entire series here. He wants real justice for what happened to him, but he also clearly wants attention, and that tension makes him a complex character rather than a simple villain or victim. One of the smartest things Scream 2 introduces is the Stab film series existing inside this fictional world. Every terrible thing that happens to these characters eventually becomes the next Stab movie, which then inspires the next wave of killers, which creates more material for another Stab movie. It is a loop that never ends, and it gives this franchise unlimited places to go without running out of ideas. That one creative choice is a big reason why Scream has kept going for decades. The suspense in this film is real. The scene where Sidney is trapped inside a crashed police car next to an unconscious Ghostface, forced to carefully slide over him to reach the one unlocked door while fighting every instinct to just rip his mask off, is extraordinary filmmaking. It works as tension, as dark humor, and as a character study all at the same time. The movie loses some momentum in the way it develops the killers. The killers’ reveal has emotional weight, but the lead-up to that moment is very slight. One killer has plenty of emotional motivation, but is hidden until the very end of the film, which is disappointing to the audience. The only clues available to the audience for the first killer can be found in multiple viewings; this makes the ‘whodunit’ feel very rushed in comparison to the first film’s thorough development of its mystery. Still, Scream 2 proves its worth again. It’s evident that Campbell, Cox, and Arquette are devoted to their roles and fully invested in them. The writing remains strong with intelligent scares that have purpose rather than being used solely for shock value; and the movie never loses sight of the fact that Sidney Prescott is an actual human being, not just a victim or someone to be used as a tool by society; she is a vibrant woman determined not to allow herself to become less than what she has done prior. As a general rule, sequels tend not to hold together. However, this particular sequel has proved otherwise. Through the talent of its writers, directors, and producers, Scream 2 has shown that a properly conceived and executed follow-up can build on the original premise without taking away from the value of the original film.

OUR RATING – AN UN-SUCK 8

MEDIA

• Genre – Horror

Street date

• Digital – September 7, 2021
• 4K – October 4, 2022
• BluRay – September 7, 2021
• DVD – July 22, 1998
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 2.35:1
• Sound – English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles – English SDH, Spanish, French

Extras

• Audio Commentary by Director Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena and Editor Patrick Lussier
• Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary by Director Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena and Editor Patrick Lussier)
• Outtakes
• Featurette
• Music Videos:
  • Master P – “Scream”
  • Kottonmouth Kings – “Suburban Life”
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots