Good if Flawed

Rating: Null/10 (4 November 2011)

I had heard that this was an excellent sequel to the first Scream, and going in, I was expecting something good. And this delivered. It takes are the criticisms and satire of the first Scream to another level, questioning whether movies influence people's actions (in an ironic way), and railing on college life in general. It also brilliant in the way it references the first Scream, especially during the scene where Randy and Dewey are trying to find suspects, and they use "sequel logic" to narrow down the list. In other moments, the movie makes fun of itself in a similar way.
This movie is extremely well written (Kevin Williamson), with many memorable lines that manage to develop plot and have a greater significance. There is also an almost surrealist element in two scenes: When Jada Pinkett dies in the movie theater the mood goes from funny to incredibly disturbing in a two second twist and the scene where Neve Campbell is playing Cassandra in a rehearsal for her school play is probably the scariest in the movie, and I wish Wes Craven would have played up that image more.
The one thing that truly held me back from loving this movie, however, was the end. I would have liked it fine if the "Micky" twist had stood, but the one that follows it is ridiculous, and even though it is explained, unbelievable within the context of the story.
Overall though, it is a worthy sequel to an already excellent horror movie.
-Alex B.