Scream 2

Director - Wes Craven (The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm St.)

Starring - Neve Campbell (The Craft, Wild Things), Courteney Cox (Seinfeld, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), and David Arquette (Eight Legged Freaks, Ready to Rumble)

Release Date - 1997

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Someone has taken their love of sequels one step too far"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I may have been born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s but I’m not a fan of everything from my childhood. I never cared for 90s slashers when I was younger and as I got older I still find them to be arrogant entries in my favorite sub-genre. Over the years I’ve caved in and watched a handful of them. Mostly, I’ve not been that impressed with them but I did recently watch I Know What You Did Last Summer for the first time and enjoyed it. One franchise I never really got into was the Scream series. I’ve reviewed a couple of the movies now along with the first season of the television show. However, I’m not really a fan of the franchise and meta-slashers in general. They almost feel like a parody of the sub-genre and almost feel like they think they are superior to the slashers before them. A few weeks ago I received the press release for the UHD release of Scream 2. I shared it and a few days later I was surprised to find a copy of the film for review waiting for me in my mailbox. I don’t recall if I had seen this previously so I went into it with an open mind as I tossed it in as part of my October horror binge.         The film follows the few survivors of the Woodsboro massacre who have now graduated high school and moved on to college. Gayle Weathers (Cox) wrote a book about her part in the massacre which has alienated her from the survivors. With a film hitting theaters based on the murders, the survivors once again finds themselves at the center of a murder spree as they rush to unmask the new Ghostface killer.      What the fuck did I actually just watch? I mean, a slasher with a weird ass musical number, unlikable characters, and the oddest cast of background actors that I’ve ever seen. I’m not going to spend the rest of my time bashing this because I actually respect the story and the longevity that Craven wrote into it. The franchise could be never ending with anyone taking over the role of Ghostface. However, it feels like a paint by numbers 90s thriller that fails to pull me in. I like the idea of Ghostface and my six year old son is fucking obsessed but the film just don’t do it for me. The acting in this one isn’t that impressive to me. I’ve a fan of most of the cast aside from Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox. Both actresses always seem to have the same expression on their face regardless of the scene. Campbell always looks as if she is confused while Cox can’t stop smiling or at the very least smirking even when the scene is meant to be intense and full of suspense. I do like Jamie Kennedy and his character along with Jerry O’Connell but their characters are not the main focus of the plot. The story for this one does a solid job of keeping up with the previous film in terms of killer reveal and pacing. I really do find the longevity of the plot and killer to be very impressive. The mystery behind who the killer is really does give this franchise the possibility of never ending. With that being said, the series is horrible at writing in characters. The characters are so fucking unlikable and it really is a disappointment when the entire cast of characters is not murdered by Ghostface. Also, what is the point of the entire musical number with O’Connell? Only thing I can think of is it was a test to see how many people would turn the film off before the song ended. Finally, the film has plenty of blood. The practical effects are fairly minimal, but the movie doesn’t shy away from the blood. I would have liked a little more imagination with the deaths along with some gore. Overall, Scream 2 is one I can’t recommend but fans of the franchise will dig this UHD release. Honestly, I wish I could get into this franchise but I can’t get passed the horrible characters and awkward song and dance.