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    Scream 2

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    At one point, several of the characters in “Scream 2” discuss sequels. Specifically how infrequently they measure up to the originals. If this were a bad movie, it would remind the audience of countless other - better - movies you could be watching instead but “Scream 2” knows the ins and outs of sequels. It came into the arena prepared. This a great follow-up, combining elements of whodunit slasher, comedy and satire in a way that makes its intelligence clear.

    Set some time after the events of the first movie, the tragedy of Woodsboro has been immortalized by Hollywood. When a copycat killer emerges, Sidney (Neve Campbell) - now studying at Windsor College - finds herself once again targeted by an unknown, masked slasher.

    A unique aspect of the “Scream” series is that it cares about its characters. While there are a few exceptions, such as Nancy from “Nightmare on Elm Street”, most of the humans we see in the horror films that inspired “Scream 2” are there to be slaughtered. Jason, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and Chucky are the “heroes”; the ones who come back over and over. This movie is different. We know Officer Dewey (David Arquette), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) well by now. They may be side characters but we want them to live. Their stories continue from where they left off, with a romance developing between Dewey and Gale, the already-capable Sidney cutting the crank-callers she gets at the knees, and poor Randy still left on the sidelines while obsessing about film. Automatically, you’re invested in this story.

    In a move I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, we see that within the universe of “Scream”, there is a movie based on the massacre in Woodsboro called "Stab". We see a few scenes - re-enactments of some from "Scream". We see a crowd cheering when Ghostface appears. For me, this was a moment to pause. This was the movie that "Scream" and its sequel could've been; sleazy, blood-dripped fun. It's what the audience within the movie is getting - until the killer strikes. Suddenly, they all get a dose of reality.

    Come to think of it, we assume it’s the Ghostface we see stalking Maureen (Jada Pinkett) that eventually goes on to torment Sidney… but what if it wasn’t? What if some sicko just took a place where everyone would be wearing masks, screaming, and used it to get away with murder? What if more than one person was sick enough in the head to kill? This ambiguity is definitely intentional. A sub-theme of “Scream 2” is whether movies can influence people to commit violent crimes. The person (or persons, there were two in the first film after all) after Sidney have been inspired by Stu Macher and Billy Loomis - real people in their world. Without “Stab”, would the masks be as readily available? Would the crime be as publicized? Is "Stab" partially to blame? This idea comes back strongly towards the end but you know we can’t discuss that here. Although I will say that even if you know the ending, the movie has great re-watch value. It’s a lot of fun to see how all the puzzle pieces fit together and how the film follows some conventions but subverts others.

    Writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven bring plenty of suspense along with the comedic scenes. It’s a nice balance that keeps you guessing. When you get comfortable, it pours on the gore to knock you off your feet. There are so many great scenes sprinkled throughout so let's list a few of them. There’s the one where Gail and Dewey are scouring the campus to track down who is calling Randy, the opener, Sarah Michelle Gellar's small part, Ghostface’s reveal (a blueprint for how to do one of those “I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming ending), the “Stab” scenes (a riot), that discussion in the film studies class, and a particularly effective moment in which Sidney is stalked by Ghostface in the middle of a play rehearsal (it might be the best scene in the movie). Oh, how could I forget Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary? He only had a cameo in the first movie and the way he plays into this follow-up is terrific.

    There’s a lot to love in “Scream 2”. On the one hand, it’s a surprise lightning could strike twice but on the other, it’s only natural that a movie franchise that knows this much about movie franchises should be able to pull this off as well as it does. (On Blu-ray, January 23, 2022)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  18.5.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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