A strong, knowing sequel

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2011)

Wes Craven is of course a legend to horror fans for his work on films like Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. He was the perfect man to make Scream, a post modern homage and comedy of slasher films but also a good slasher on its own. Writer Kevin Williamson originally wanted to make Scream a trilogy, so getting Wes Craven was a sensible decision to keep the series going.
A year after the events of Scream a film has been about it, "Stab". During a preview screening two university students (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett) are murdered in a crowded cinema. The media descend on the university which the hero from the first film, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is studying at. And it all seem like it was going well for Sidney who seem to get her life back on track. But the survivors of the first film become the targets of the new ghost face killer as the body court starts to raise.
Like the first film there is sharp dialogue throughout, there is insight about horror genre and theories about whether violence in film influence violence in real life (I personally think that rubbish because if you got violence tendencies you don't need a film to influence you) and it both a commentary on the genre and social attitudes. Even if Scream and Scream 2 were made as straight forward slasher films they would seen be better then most because the character are more likable and believable then in most slashers, making you care for characters if something happens to them. I also really like Craven's way of shooting chases with the way the camera follows the action of someone being chased in a easy to follow yet tense way. Paul Greengrass should take note that a scene can be tense without the need of shaky cam preventing the audience working out what's happening.
The acting is decent enough. Courtney Cox's character Gail Weathers grows to be a little more softer and likable with more tender scenes. Campbell is very solid as the lead, forced back into a situation she thought she would never face again. But after going through all this twice I would have thought she would be psychological scarred for life. Elise Neal and Pinkett basically play typical sassy black women, especially Pinkett who is also a woman with an axe to grind about women's and African American's rights. Jerry O'Connell who plays Sidney's boyfriend is made out to be a decent bloke if a bit of a preppy. I personally thought that Liev Schreiber was a bit of a weak link because I really did not buy into performance and his looked like he was on autopilot.
Scream 2 is also filled with subplots, one of them being the three other survivors believing one of them is the killer and they go on the search to find out who it really is and one able Cotton (Schreiber) wanting to get Sidney to agree to an interview about how her evidence got him arrested for her mother's murder and so he could put his side of the story out to the media. There were well handled and did not distract from main plot which a fast paced affair. The scene on the university court yard was an additional tense when characters try and find Ghostface.
The film starts off being very similar to the first film, a 10 minute prologue, the police and media going crazy, the debate of film and Sidney punching Gail, it is still different from the first and not just a repeat of Scream. For the most part Scream 2 still plays on horror clichés like two characters arguing a case about whether to run or check to see if the killer is dead and have a valid argument. But sometimes Scream 2 does fall into the cliché trap like a cop having a chance to kill Ghostface or the characters splitting up when Ghostface is around. But it still a strong, entertaining knowing horror film.