One of the better horror sequels in history

With 1996's Scream making a veritable killing at the box office and revitalising the slasher subgenre, production company Dimension Films swiftly green-lit a sequel, resulting in Scream 2 hitting multiplexes less than a year after its revered predecessor. However, despite the quick turnaround and last-minute rewrites occurring during shooting, 1997's Scream 2 does not feel like a shoddy rush job of a follow-up. The only movies more ripe for satire and ridicule than mindless slasher films are the endless sequels to mindless slashers, and returning screenwriter Kevin Williamson successfully recognises this fact. Instead of a simplistic or stale rehash, Scream 2 is a satisfying extension of the first film, offering a fresh new story with returning characters while revelling in acknowledging and satirising the clichés of film sequels. With Wes Craven thankfully returning to direct this follow-up, the celebrated horror filmmaker creates another entertaining, humorous slasher that recaptures the magic and intelligence of the standout original, ensuring that Scream 2 is a rare horror sequel worth your time.

Scream 2 commences two years after the Woodsboro massacre. In the ensuing years, investigative reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) wrote a book about the murders, and the events were adapted into a slasher flick entitled Stab. Woodsboro survivors Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) are getting on with their lives by attending Windsor College, though the scars persist. Sidney now lives with Hallie (Elise Neal) and maintains a relationship with her new boyfriend, Derek (Jerry O'Connell), while their friend circle also includes Derek's best friend, Mickey (Timothy Olyphant). But with a Ghostface killer slaughtering two college seniors at a preview screening of Stab, the media quickly suspects that a copycat is on the loose, prompting Dewey Riley (David Arquette) to offer Sidney his protection while Gale arrives to cover the case as it unfolds. The killer soon sets their sights on Sidney, seemingly out for revenge after the events that occurred in Woodsboro.

Scream 2 sees several of Scream's key actors returning, but it is a genuine rarity in the horror genre for the same writer and director to return for the sequel. Williamson developed two treatments for potential sequels while writing the original Scream, and Craven signed a contract for two sequels following a successful test screening of the first movie; thus, Williamson and Craven wanted to pursue follow-ups and planned them in advance instead of arbitrarily assembling a hasty sequel at the studio's behest. Despite Williamson needing to conduct extensive rewrites during shooting in response to an online script leak, his writing remains sharp and witty - Scream 2 smartly dissects the clichés and rules of horror sequels and whodunit mysteries, the dialogue is funny and engaging, the characters stay self-aware and fully realised, and the scares still effortlessly induce chills. One of the film's most notable scenes involves a classroom discussion about film sequels, as the characters debate whether they are inherently inferior or can outdo their predecessors. Naturally, the characters mention noteworthy sequels like Aliens, Terminator 2 and The Godfather: Part II, and one character even mentions the 1987 horror flick House II: The Second Story, which is arguably better than the first House. This discussion highlights that Williamson and Craven wanted to produce a follow-up that favourably compares to the first film. Like the first Scream, the characters also savvily reference an array of movies, while other clever jokes (Gale explaining that somebody photoshopped her head onto Jennifer Aniston) also provoke laughs.

Horror veteran Craven remains in fine directorial form for Scream 2, showing a sure hand behind the camera while orchestrating the mayhem. With nearly double the budget of the original Scream, the technical presentation is top-notch, with editor Patrick Lussier and composer Marco Beltrami also making their return and significantly contributing to the picture's immense power. 1996's Scream opened with a bang, with Craven staging an iconic opening sequence that set the stage for the ensuing carnage. Scream 2 aspires to live up to that set piece with an intense opening involving two African American patrons (played by Jada Pinkett and Omar Epps) attending a screening of Stab. The scene is full of incisive and amusing dialogue, with Pinkett's character bemoaning the lack of African American participation in slashers (it, therefore, cannot be a coincidence that Scream 2 features several black characters) and making fun of the characters on-screen. (Additionally, Gale's African American cameraman later tries to leave, explaining that "Brothers don't last long in situations like this!") Craven and Williamson let loose a torrent of tongue-in-cheek creativity for the "movie within a movie" sequences, gleefully making fun of the first Scream and '90s horror conventions in general. Stab features Tori Spelling as Sidney, Heather Graham in the role played by Drew Barrymore, and Luke Wilson as Sidney's boyfriend. Sadly, glimpses at Stab are limited, and it would have been more fun if Craven and Williamson had found time to show lengthier excerpts.

Thankfully, Scream 2 features another terrific ensemble of likeable characters who feel like genuine people instead of two-dimensional stereotypes. Returning to the role of Sidney, Neve Campbell remains an ideal slasher heroine, capably communicating fear, emotion, vulnerability and passion. Sidney is more spunky than a typical damsel in distress, even calmly shooting down a prank caller in an early scene by using a caller ID device to identify them. Courteney Cox and David Arquette also return for this sequel, while Jamie Kennedy is his usual amiable self as Randy. Proving he was born to play this role, Kennedy continues to enthusiastically deliver geeky, film-savvy monologues, pointing out that horror sequels always have a bigger body count and more elaborate kill scenes. (SPOILERS: Unfortunately, the biggest flaw of Scream 2 is Randy's death. He was much too great of a character and added ample colour to the films, making his murder a massive misstep by Craven and Williamson. END SPOILERS) The ensemble features several recognisable names who are new to the Scream series, including Sarah Michelle Gellar (who had just debuted as the titular character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jerry O'Connell (Stand by Me) and Timothy Olyphant (who later starred in shows like Justified and Deadwood). Meanwhile, Liev Schreiber, who had a very brief role in the first Scream as the falsely accused killer of Sidney's mother, returns here in a more prominent role to beef up the list of suspects. And as Gale's new cameraman, Duane Martin (White Men Can't Jump) provides further comic relief.

Unfortunately, Scream 2's finale feels a bit on the sloppy side. Although the plot twists are compelling and surprising, the typical Hollywood "reveal everything before I kill you" speech is a tad silly, not to mention the climax is too long. This shortcoming aside, Scream 2 is briskly funny and thrilling, representing another successful merger of horror and comedy. Once again, it is a pleasure to behold a meta, postmodernist slasher film that maintains respect for the genre and the audience while making fun of well-worn clichés. It may not be a better film than its predecessor - or quite as excellent - but it remains one of the better horror sequels in history.

7.8/10