Scream 2 (1997)
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Scream 2 Movie Review
Scream 2 is a 1997 horror comedy film directed by Wes Craven and starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox. It is a terrific, wildly entertaining sequel.
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“There are certain rules that one must abide by
in order to create a successful sequel“
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Sidney is in college and once again finds herself the target of a psychotic killer. However, this time, the killer’s murder count is higher and the killings more outrageous. The movie once again is very comedic, but I would say that it’s even more leaning toward comedy than the original. That led to the weaker horror scenes, but at least the humor is outstanding.
This franchises is above all else a strong work of postmodernism. The first movie made fun of slasher genre clichés and that lampooning was glorious to witness. This one pokes fun at sequels, especially the horror ones. There is a lot of talk about sequels being longer, gorier and with bigger body counts, which also holds true for the movie itself hilariously enough. All of the talk about other famous movie sequels and the ending somewhat mirroring the ending of the original made the movie hilariously aware that it’s a sequel.
As for the horror department, the kills are more creative and more entertaining to watch. Admittedly, in that area it trumps the original. However, other than that, the movie fails to creep you out as much as some of the iconic scenes from the first movie. That is why I would firmly classify it as a sequel. The detective mystery elements are interestingly enough stronger than the slasher ones. The opening being a nod to the original and a very direct one was quite memorable.
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Sidney is just as competent as she was before and how she capably maneuvered herself through the third act was so much fun to watch. Neve Campbell is very good in this iconic role of hers. As for the killer, I definitely saw it coming and I did see through the boyfriend being innocent, but the twist about Billy’s mother being the one behind it all was unexpected and it really worked. That entire set at the end was superbly utilized into the horror action and it was the most entertaining, albeit silliest part of the movie.
David Arquette and Courteney Cox are just as lovely as they were before and I find their relationship quite charming. The problem here was that the two were both saved in the end. That was typical and annoying. They could have killed at least Dewey and the ending would have, thus, been more emotionally impactful, but this way it was too much of a happy ending with no tragic consequences for the main characters whatsoever.
Liev Schreiber was so funny as Cotton and his subplot was very well done, but one could wish that the movie wasn’t concerned with so many characters that led to such a bloated runtime. It was overlong for a horror movie, though I would still say it was mostly very engaging. The silliness abounds, but ultimately the script was once again quite clever as was the dialogue, making for one hell of a good time.
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