Scream 2 (8/10)

Rating: 8/10 (21 June 2016)

The genius of Scream 2 is the callbacks and homage it pays to former horror sequels and to the original Scream. Scream is iconic for its self-reflection, its placement in the horror genre, and the rules, which horror movies abide by. My own set of rules to a great sequel differ than the film. The rules are simple but are sadly not achieved as often as they should be. First, continuity, have a story that follows the events from the original or just limit the plot holes and have it be logical. Scream 2 passes the first rule with a big check-mark. Second, bring back major players, which Scream 2 exceeded at by starring Neve Campbell (Sidney), David Arquette (Dewey), Courteney Cox (Gale), Jamie Kennedy (Randy), and Liev Schreiber (Cotton). The third and final rule is a trickier concept to handle by filmmakers, which is maintaining the same atmosphere that made the original fantastic but to steer the story in a new direction. Wes Craven fulfilled all these rules, especially the third by preserving the character's personality, comedic moments, music theme, film style, and general mood and feeling of the film. Craven also connects the dots perfectly beginning to end on killer identity and motive and concluding with a satisfying ending. For all the reasons above, if I was in a film class and had to name a sequel that surpassed its original, one that would definitely come to mind is Scream 2.