Phantom’s 100th Review: Scream 2 (1997)

At first glance it must be a difficult thing making a follow up to a film like Scream, a sequel looks destined to become generic because one of the reasons Scream succeeded was its novelty factor which a sequel wouldn’t have that much of. But if you look a little closer at the prospect of what Scream set out to do something will click, they can satirise sequels which are copious in the world of horror. It feels like a fresh idea, ripe for the picking if you will, and the fact that the sequel in itself is trying to be ironic is the reason why it succeeds just the same as the first, that and the return of the major cast members, wit, self-awareness and of course referencing. You get the picture.

The film follows Sydney two years after the tragic events in Woodsboro. She and Randy are trying to get on with their lives in whilst studying at College, Cotton Weary is out of Jail and is trying to cash in the events, Gale Weathers has written a bestselling novel about the events which has then in turn been made into the film “Stab” aptly starring Tory Spelling as Sydney and just to make it that much more stressful for Sydney someone has taken their love for sequels too far (to quote the tagline) but luckily for her she has Dewey to protect her from the copycat killer. But is that enough?

Neve Campbell is still spot on with her portrayal of Sydney, it must such a hard thing to portray a character that has had to deal with two extremely traumatic events in their life if you consider this you can understand why I love her performance so much. The scene that stands out in my eyes is with Sydney’s director, a cameo by David Warner, when she professes to be a fighter and then proceeds to take up the stage and give a fantastic soliloquy, donning quite a British accent I hence to add, which is breathtaking and dialogue is so important to Sydney’s characterisation and it is crafty, and intriguing, sneaking in a soliloquy to show this, instead of the character voicing the feelings openly and it shows the entire theme that shrouds her life, the choice of subject matter also, Cassandra of Troy and her premonitions of tragedy to which people ignore like Sydney warning people of the killer’s power and then their ignorance leading to their demise, mirrors the tragedy of her life and that, when you start to truly understand the character, will make your heart break every time you hear those words spoken by her. The additions of actors like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Timothy Olyphant and Portia de Rossi work well and do not hinder the film; Director Wes Craven uses their talents to mock the teenagers we all hate in horror films and it all pays off.

The scares are plenty and placed in the utmost opportune moments and they all lead to a very satisfying ending which doesn’t actually sound that ridiculous when you actually think about it. The dialogue is still fresh and the best dialogue I have seen from a sequel in quite some time and the referencing still to this day amuses me and makes me play the “guess where that’s from” game, I love films that care about the fans of the horror genre so much they reference it and give them jokes that only they would get and on top of all of that its terrifying at times. What is not to love here?

Skip to the End

9.0/10

Personally I prefer this sequel to the first (probably due to the soliloquy) but I can, being unbiased, say that I understand why the first one is a masterpiece compared to this one. If you want to see a sequel that actually succeeds in providing entertainment, witty dialogue and intellect then this may just be for you.