A Nutshell Review: Scream 2

Rating: 6/10 (11 February 2006)

Given the success of the original Scream, it is inevitable that there would be a sequel, bringing back cast members from the first movie who survived the massacre (Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox), and adding new popular faces that would add to the body count, like the underutilized Sarah Michelle Gellar.
In case you've forgotten the iconic beginnings of this franchise, it is again reprised with a movie within a movie, as Gail Weather's (Cox) successful book about the incident has been turned into a movie called Stab, starring Heather Graham in Drew Barrymore's role, and David Schwimmer (not seen though) and Tori Spelling in the roles of Arquette's and Campbell's respectively. It's an incredibly cheesy beginning, which stayed true to the way the original was played out, and guest stars Jada Pinkett Smith too.
With the original Scream poking fun at slasher flicks in general, this sequel pokes fun at, you'd guess it, sequels. A new copycat serial killer is in town and stalking Sidney (Campbell) and the surviving gang has to race against time to try and find out who this sicko might be. Could it be a copycat down to the last detail such that Sidney's new boyfriend, an alpha-male jock, is involved? Or one of the surviving cast from the first film? Or how about the innocently accused Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) who's released from prison, and wanting to get back at Sidney for putting him in jail? The gore factor definitely has been reduced (or was it because I was watching a Code 3 version?) and relies on the usual soundtrack crescendos to pull in the screams (put intended)? And speaking of the soundtrack, there were moments were Broken Arrow's was used liberally throughout. The in-jokes and numerous references which made the first Scream a darling, were sadly missed in the sequel.
The ending again is a twist when the killer is revealed. Though like all predictable villains, a long extended monologue always seemed to be the order of the day. Guess that's just the way the genre goes. Like what was mentioned, there are only a few sequels which surpass their originals, and sadly, Scream 2 is not one of them.
Code 3 DVD was a barebones version, nothing special included, which is a pity.