Scream 2 (1997)

Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Kevin Williamson (characters), Kevin Williamson

Stars:

Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

8 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Maureen (as Jada Pinkett)
Omar Epps	...	Phil
Paulette Patterson	...	Usher Giving Out Costumes
Rasila Schroeder	...	Screaming Girl Up Aisle
Heather Graham	...	'Stab' Casey
Roger Jackson	...	The Voice (voice) (as Roger L. Jackson)
Peter Deming	...	Popcorn Boy
Molly Gross	...	Theater Girl #1
Rebecca McFarland	...	Theater Girl #2
Neve Campbell	...	Sidney Prescott
Elise Neal	...	Hallie
Liev Schreiber	...	Cotton Weary
Kevin Williamson	...	Cotton's Interviewer
Sandy Heddings	...	Girl in Dorm Hallway (as Sandy Heddings-Katulka)
Dave Allen Clark	...	Reporter Outside Theater

Storyline

Two years after the events of Scream, Sidney Prescott and Randy are attending Windsor college. They are trying to get on with their lives...Until a new Ghostface killing spree begins. With the help of Dewey and Gale, Sidney must find out who's behind the murders. As the body count goes up, the list of suspects goes down.

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Plot Keywords:

villain | satire | self referential | evil woman | tough girl | 

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Taglines:

Someone has taken their love of sequels one step too far.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and strong bloody violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally scheduled to open alongside Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Titanic (1997), both blockbusters shifted their dates so as not to be pitted against this movie.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 25 mins) Red drawings on Derek's chest disappear/reappear when the fraternity captures him.

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Quotes

Sydney: [referring to who the killer is] Mrs. Loomis?
Gale: [shocked] What?
Mickey: BILLY'S MOTHER!
[Gale turns around and sees Mickey]
Mickey: Nice twist huh? Didn't see it coming, did you?
[laughs]
Gale: [still shocked] Jesus. It can't be, I've seen pictures of you.
Sydney: Yeah this is 60 pounds and a lot of work later.
Debbie: [takes off her trench coat] It's called a makeover. You should try it. Look a little tired yourself there, Gale!

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Alternate Versions

Theatrical version was cut in Germany to avoid a 'Not under 18' rating. The uncut version was released on video.

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Connections

Spoofed in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000)

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Soundtracks

Brothers
Composed by Hans Zimmer
Performed by Duane Eddy
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

User Reviews

Still fun, but less clever than the original

How do you make a sequel to a horror film whose whole plot was made of in-jokes and film references? Easy: make the follow-up even more in-jokey and self-referential than its predecessor. This formula actually seems to work for Scream 2, at least in the first two acts.

The prologue is arguably a masterclass in self-irony: an African-American couple (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett Smith) go to a movie theater where a new horror film, called Stab, is screening. This flick is based on Gale Weathers' (Courtney Cox) book The Woodsboro Murders, which recounts the events of the first Scream. As the movie begins, Smith's character complains about Stab being a film "with no black people in it" (just like Scream was), and, predictably, this leads to the two African-Americans being brutally murdered as the film-within-a-film's prologue (with Heather Graham replacing Drew Barrymore) is shown on the screen, so that the fictional and real deaths occur almost simultaneously. From there on, things take the usual turn: the media go crazy about the killings and once again Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is in the spotlight, as she and her friend Randy (Jamie Kennedy) must protect themselves from the new foe, who is apparently mimicking what happened in the past (an obvious reference to the first film's "Movies don't create psychos" line).

The main charm of the original Scream was its ability to almost seamlessly combine clever in-jokes and a believable plot. This time around, the in-jokes are the best thing in the movie, while the story, particularly in the overblown conclusion, suffers from merely repeating key scenes from the first film. Now, this might be a satire on the lack of originality in most horror sequels, and it would work if the characters were developed correctly. Sadly, such a thing doesn't happen, with Sidney being reduced to the usual girl who keeps running and screaming (fitting, huh?) and everyone else (including Liev Schreiber, who gets more screen-time in the sequel) playing stereotypes, with the exception of David Arquette, very likable as the nice cop again trying to solve the case, and Kennedy, who has a great time stating the rules to follow in a sequel.

Ironically, the movie's funniest scene has a bunch of film students discussing follow-ups that are better than the originals. And while few could have anything bad to say about Aliens, Terminator 2 or The Godfather: Part II, it must be said that Scream 2, while fun and watchable, most certainly doesn't have the same sharpness that made its predecessor an above-average horror film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scream Again

Filming Locations:

Green Street between South Robles & Madison Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,926,342, 14 December 1997

Gross USA:

$101,363,301

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$172,363,301

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Konrad Pictures, Craven-Maddalena Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (FotoKem)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1