Scream 2, Revisited!

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It’s two years after the events of the first film and Sidney and the survivors have all moved on with their lives. Sidney is in college with Randy; Gale has written a best-seller about the events of the first film; Dewey is still recovering from his injuries. A movie called “Stab” has been made, based on Gale’s book, and at the premier, a young couple is (um) stabbed to death. And now Sidney is starting to get those phone calls again. The murders are revving back up, with Sidney the number one target yet again. Who is behind it this time? Can it be one of her fellow survivors, gone all twisted and wrong? Or could it be someone else, like her new boyfriend? People die along the way and pretty soon, we get to truth, as the killer is revealed, and now Sidney and the others must fight for their lives. Again.

Ah, sororities...

I really enjoyed the second Scream. While not as original as the first, it carries on in a fine way, upping the body count and bringing some more gore to the table. While there aren’t any scenes as riveting as the opening of the first film, or even the Halloween scene at the house party, there are a couple of good moments, like Sidney crawling over the unconscious killer in the wrecked car. That was tense. And the death of Randy is tragic and painful. One thing I noticed right away was the introduction of more African American characters. This seems to be a (correct) reaction to the lily-white cast of the first film. Although I will also point out that nearly all of these characters are murdered at some point, so there’s still that. The change of settings to a sorority and college campus helps, as well, giving the killer a new playground in which to romp. Overall, Scream 2 is a great sequel. The only problem I’d really have with it is that it’s too long. Yeah, it’s about 2 hours in length, like the original, but it drags in a couple of parts. Tighten that up some and we could add another half star to the rating.

Keeping the magic alive!

Scream is now a franchise, as of the release of this second film, and it stands on some fairly flimsy ground. How often can they return to Sidney and the surviving cast members and not start to wear out their welcome? How long before they dispense with this world and introduce a new one for the Ghostface Killer to strike? The answer is, of course, two more movies and then there’s that TV show that I haven’t watched yet (I know, shame on me). In any case, the first sequel stands on its own legs, and stands strong. Maybe it’s not a sequel that surpasses or equals the first, but it comes damned close.

★★★☆