Scream 2

1997, 18, Directed by Wes Craven

Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Liev Schreiber

The joy of the original Scream lay in the fact that it was a mock-up of the convention it was successful in being. More of the same then in Scream 2 which focuses on the tropes every sequel adheres to, including the fact that they rarely surpass the quality of the original. Although this may be true here, Wes Craven’s follow-up is by no means a disaster. In fact, it is a highly enjoyable watch that features more jumps and tense-ridden scenes (look no further than the moment where Sidney must crawl over an unconscious Ghostface killer to escape a crashed car). Beginning with an opener not quite as memorable, but as effective and tongue-in-cheek as number one, Scream 2 reunites the survivors of Woodsboro two years later as a copycat killer decides to leave victims lying around fresh after the release of Stab, the cheesy film based on the Woodsboro killings. The Scream film’s strong points are the engaging characters and with a longer running time here, there is more opportunity for interaction between these creations (most entertaining being Cox's Gale and Jamie Kennedy's Randy). There are moments which drag, however with passable performances all round, a slick script (the unsung hero, Kevin Williamson) fit with deft direction and a genuine surprise climax, it is no wonder something so grisly can be so fun. Fittingly, it doesn’t manage to surpass the first one – but hey, maybe that’s the point!

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