Even louder than the first

Rating: 9/10 (15 April 2011)

I know the rule of movies; sequels can NEVER be better than the originals. But in Scream's case this rule is broken. Scream 2 is not only better than the original film but it's also got a better group to back the original leads Sidney, Dewey, and Gale up. Jerry O'Connell, Jamie Kennedy, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Timothy Olyphant, and Marisol Nichols all take part in this great sequel and whether their roles are short or long, they are appreciated.
Scream did however mess with one thing in it's years; the self aware aspect. It works in this film, and it's good because the film, like I said, knows when to be scary and knows when to be witty. The sad thing is Scream did so well that now it makes other horror films like newer installments of Friday the 13th and I Know What You Did Last Summer feel like they need to be self aware to be good. Not the case.
Scream has the right writing and direction to accomplish such a goal. The characters know they are in a real life sequel. Wes Craven knew what he wanted to do and screenwriter Kevin Williamson knew how to be good with references without going too overboard. Nowadays this concept is beyond overused and is now becoming a tiresome and dreary old form of comedy/horror. Only Scream could accomplish it correctly.
Scream 2 is relatively the same thing as it's predecessor. Only now the lead characters have all seen a film called Stab which is the movie version of the murders they were involved with. Sort of like Scream is a movie about itself. Following? Well, same formula here. The characters know every horror movie cliché and instead of making the usual mistakes, they come up with ways to do their own mistakes.
I like the cast a lot more in the sequel. We get Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rebecca Gayheart, Timothy Olyphant, Omar, Epps, and even Marisol Nichols has a brief cameo. The cast is perfect. A great addition to a worthy sequel. Normally I don't like sequels more than the originals. But Scream 2 manages to accomplish a bit more than the first.
The question at this point is how much more steam does the Scream series have? We have a third film that came out in 2000, and a fourth film in the series, released in 2011. Is Scream going to run itself down? Or will prove worthy of so many sequels and show that you can't ever scream too much? Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Jerry O'Connell, Omar Epps, Jada Pinkett, Liev Schreiber, Rebecca Gayheart, and Marisol Nichols. Directed by: Wes Craven.