Like the original, Scream 2 took the dead-in-the-water slasher genre to task while simultaneously attempting to reinvent it. But now it’s 10 years later and we’re able to cast judgment the same way that it judged the Friday the 13th series - with the interrogation lamp of a decade's worth of perspective.
It begins at a packed private screening of "Stab 2", the sequel to the smash hit horror movie based on the "real life" murders that occurred in the first movie. The audience is overly eager, a third of them decked out in the Ghostface mask and robes. But the fun comes to a halt when Jada Pinkett is stabbed to death in the middle of the crowded theater. The most recognizable female cast member killed off in the first 5 minutes? I've never seen anything like that before! Except for Scream 1 that is. So after transcending the slasher template with self referential wit and innovative ideas, the series quickly falls victim to its own new formula.
A copycat killer (or killers) is on the loose and he may even be cleverer than the first guy. Neve Campbell returns as Ghostface's main target as does Courtney Cox (the reporter), David Arquette (the bumbling cop) and the always unattractive Liev Schreiber (wrongly accused author). They're joined by new disposable characters played by Pacey from Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guy From Smallville, The Noxcema Girl and Roseanne's Sister. Everyone is a suspect. Anyone can be killed off at a moment's notice.
Although the reveal is nothing short of a big fat letdown, Scream 2 actually holds its own pretty well. The pacing of the film runs like a well oiled machine and the deaths are often unexpected and wicked. During a film class discussion, we get a fun reminder of the "rules" to horror sequels (though the movie itself adheres to some of them). And Courtney Cox and David Arquette's chemistry enrich both the comedy and drama though they do grow a little tiresome by the end.
On the downside, Kevin Williamson's slick dialog too often comes across as contrived. On too many occasions, it feels as though it’s his voice coming out of the actors' mouths. (Kevin Smith’s dialog has a similar problem but he’s (usually) able to counteract it with raunchiness.) I’m also not a big fan of the mask. I have no doubt that the simplistic design was done intentionally to drive home the sense that the killer could be anybody but that doesn't change the fact that it looks like something you can buy at Rite Aid for $4.99.
4 comments:
you went to Rite Aid to do a price check, didn't you?
That's so cool that we both reviewed Kevin Williamson movies so near each other like that! Or did you do that on purpose? (I always assume everyone's writing reviews in the order they saw stuff because I'm a nut about doing that.)
You do a great job here pegging the Kevin Williamson problem; one of the reasons I like The Faculty so much is that it's KW caring more about telling a good story, so the script's narcissistic stylings are the same brand of clever. The hype after the first Scream was so overblown that the sequels become a complete mess, wasting a ton of dialogue on "clever" instead of clever.
That said, I may be back-projecting the awful time I had seeing Scream 3 on Scream 2; it's interesting to hear you note the positives. And you freely admit to being charmed by Courtney Cox and David Arquette without any irony. I like that.
And that picture is hilarious.
I like the list of disposable characters. I'm embarrassed that I know who each one is although it occurred to me that if you listed their names I might not have been able to picture them!
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