Scream 2

Having loved Scream and that the story had been told, personally I thought that a sequel wasn't really needed, but that is what we have got. Expectations were neither high nor low, and there was bound to be something new in this one that we hadn't discovered in the predecessor. Did Scream 2 reach up to the masterful standard of the first film? Definitely not! Like most sequels that don't have a follow-up story to its predecessor, Scream 2 is like the first one all over again with the same openings and endings but with different yet slightly weaker plot twists and turns.The Hangover: Part II and Home Alone: Lost In New York are examples.


The best bit of credit that can be given to this sequel is that after the few plot twists and turns, there were a few questions that were asked about the first film that were answered in this one. There were the intense thrills that were still there in this one, which is where a major part of the first film came back and followed. Beside the genre, the Scream franchise is a lot like the Rocky franchise, mostly due to the fact that after one masterful first film, the sequels just feel slightly weaker as they progress so therefore almost needlessly continue, but still are fun to watch.


It has been two years since the tragic events at Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are trying to get on with their lives, and are currently both students at Windsor College. Cotton Weary is out of prison, and is trying to cash in on his unfortunate incarceration. Gale Weathers has written a bestseller, "The Woodsboro Murders," which has been turned into the film, "Stab," starring Tori Spelling as Sidney. As the film's play date approaches, the cycle of death begins anew. Dewey Riley immediately flies out of Woodsboro to try to protect Sidney, his "surrogate sister." But in this sequel to the 1996 horror film, the number of suspects only goes down as the body count slowly goes up!


Neve Campbell reprises her role as Sidney Prescott, who has moved on with her life after 2 years and the events that occurred in the first film. However, the figure in the ghost mask and black robe hasn't left her alone just yet and has come back to terrorize her even further. There were a few personality changes to Sidney in this one than in the first film, and they were that she felt a bit more badass, braver and more of a heroic fighter. So, that is why her role as Prescott is just as special in this one as the first film. Sidney isn't a young teenager now, she's a grown woman! Courtney Cox returns as news reporter Gale Weathers, and comes back once again to investigate the murders and back to question and interrogate Sidney all over again. Unfortunately, I didn't take a strong liking to Cox as Gale in this one because there wasn't anything that changed about the character, apart from the soppy and possible love bond between her and Dewey.


Having said that Courtney Cox and David Arquette were real-life spouses at the time, that just killed the bond between Gale and Dewey. Arquette makes his return as Dewey and seeks to not only look after Sidney, but to help put an end to the ghost face killer after his sister's murder in the previous film (but not the same true identity of the ghost face killer). So, although his sister Tatum was hardly mentioned in this one, it still seemed like Dewey wanted to end it all once and for all. Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a brief appearance in the sequel as well.


Wes Craven returns as director of the sequel and still adds the horror and the suspense that we saw previously, but at the same time felt slightly different. We also knew that that the ghost face character is an influence from the actions and some movies but this lacked detail of this. However, there is a movie inside the film that is based upon the events of everything that happens in the first film, and it's calledStab which later becomes a franchise, so that was quite strange. In this one, there is a copycat murderer who is after Sidney again who was influenced by the previous killers in the ghost face mask and black robe. On the other hand, that is a good thing because that is where it felt slightly different and copy everything form its predecessor.


Overall, Scream 2 is a sequel that has its similarities and differences with the previous film, but still is very fun and exciting to watch! This one tries to do the same as what the first one did: give a bow or a hug so to speak to other thrillers of the past, but it just didn't feel the same. This is like the Rocky II of the Scream films: a sequel that didn't need to be made after its outstanding predecessor, but was worthy enough to still find very enjoyable and would still achieve it's purpose and get the approval of its target audience.