Halloween Marathon: Scream 2 (1997)

Next up on the Halloween marathon is Scream 2. Scream was surprisingly fun to watch and the tons it had appealed to me quite a bit. I am hoping for a similar feeling with Scream 2.

Lets check it out!

Scream 2

Director: Wes Craven

Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jerry O’Donnell, Timothy Olymphant, Liev Schreiber

Two years after the first series of murders, a new psychopath dons the Ghostface costume and a new string of killings begins.-IMDB

Would you look at the cast? Some familiar faces right off the bat. It is always great when sequels get back their characters from the original. There is a sense of continuity to it that makes it more engaging right off the bat. On top of that, Scream 2 keeps generally the same tone as the first. If at all possible, the dialogue for David Arquette is awesomely funny but I am getting ahead of myself.

Scream 2 starts in quite the same way where Ghostface is no longer an unknown serial killer. In fact, two years has passed by and the survivors of that horrible night have tried to move on but the movies has now brought him to life and he did indeed come back. The beginning sequence has a lot of fun with making us remember how the first movie started but also that this killer, because of the media, is able to hide in plain sight even more.

Neve Campbell’s Sidney is back stronger than before. She is older and maybe wiser. Whatever it is, her suspicions are high this time around and almost everyone is a suspect especially her current boyfriend. This is where Scream 2 is done well. We never can quite figure out who is behind it all. We are guessing right along with Sidney. At the same time, Ghostface still has some pretty fantastic sneak attacks. He keeps everyone on alert and for some reason, the movie still has that sly humor from the first one.

When we talk about humor, we cannot forget our stars. Courtney Cox is pretty great in this one. Her character has more substance and we realize that she is kind of a bad-ass herself. However, in almost every scene, David Arquette’s Dewey just cracked me up. He had the funniest dialogue whether it was silly responses or his facial expression when he said it. It was funny and endearing. He quickly became one of my favorites of this franchise.

Overall, Scream 2 feels a lot like the first one which in itself is a compliment. We have a different setting and slightly more mature cast and a copycat killer. The story opens up a few side stories linking to the first movie like Liev Schreiber’s Cotton Weary. The return of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette are great and adds continuity to the sequel. Scream 2 doesn’t forget its success with the first one and manages to keep its tone. Perhaps not as great as the first one but still a lot of fun to watch.

Have you seen Scream 2? What do you think about it?

Scream 3’s review will be next week. Drop by and check it out! 🙂