Scream 2 Review

Now Why Does She Have to Be Naked?

"Scream 2"

Scream 2 | Directed by Wes Craven | Horror | R | 2 H

Written by Nicole Betts

Before I go any further into my review of Scream 2, if you have not seen the first Scream, STOP READING! I am doing my very best to keep this review spoiler free but due to this being a direct sequel, some spoilers are unavoidable. So, do yourself a favour and go and experience a cinematic masterpiece before coming back to enjoy this review.
 
Everyone good? Everyone ready? Awesome! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Wes Craven is back, and he comes back swinging. Scream 2 picks up two years after the end of Scream, showing us how Sidney, our heroic final girl from the first movie, is handling the events of the first movie. She is older, more weathered and somehow even more of a badass than she was in the first film. This doesn’t mean she’s ok. One of the focal points of this film is how mentally scarred the whole ordeal left her, and how she is struggling to come to terms with what happened. She isn’t just a fictional movie character, she is presented as a human with real emotions and reactions to a horrifying event (have I mentioned Wes Craven is a genius?). Sidney’s struggle is exacerbated by the release of both a novel (by Gail Weathers) and movie based on the murders. Yes, you heard that right. In the Scream world, they made a movie, called Stab, about the events of the first Scream movie and showed it at the beginning of the second Scream movie. It’s bloody awesome.

So what makes Scream 2 so good? If I’m being honest, I don’t have enough space to list it all, but the main thing is it continues the story in a way that compliments the first movie while still being its own film. It keeps many of the same themes set up in the first movie, mainly, commentary on the horror movie genre, and more broadly, all movies tropes. There are dozens of instances of this, from the lack of African American actors to how sequels always ruin the franchise. My personal favourite comment is on the overt sexuality and unnecessary nudity. It’s a brilliantly done scene from the line delivery by Jada Pinkett Smith (who kills it in this movie), to the actual depiction of the first (almost) nude scene in Scream. Yes, I am sorry to disappoint, but Scream 2 upholds the no nudity from the first, another kickass part of these films. 
 
As for the characters, once again we are presented with smart and impactful characters. No cannon fodder to be found, even when the obvious choice is presented to us. Wes Craven plays with more than just horror movie tropes, he brings in stereotypical sorority sisters. Yet instead of dumb, bitchy characters who’s only purpose is to be the eye candy that eventually ends up dead and bloody, they are fun. They are still dumb, but they are important, kind, and quite honestly, one of my favourite parts of this movie. They add perfectly to the “whodunnit” theme of the first movie, and I was here for it.
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Despite my praising of this movie, there is one critical flaw. The identity of this round of Ghostface killers. Compared to the first movie, this reveal falls flat. The actual reveal is brilliant and intense, but the identities are… lackluster. The killers don’t hold the same oomph the first movie’s did as they were not as integrated into the story they could have been. Their connection had to be spoon fed to the audience at the end in a monologue of exposition that felt a bit cheap. Despite the awkward connection, the actual reveal and climactic ending didn’t disappoint and more than made up for this.
Scream 2 is bloodier, scarier and far more suspenseful than the first. As well, the deaths are much more emotionally driven, a few are down right brutal. It’s also a lot of damn fun, from the never-ending movie references to intriguing actors, it felt like a proper continuation of the story rather than a cheap money grab. 

Watch the Trailer Below