Scream 2 (1997)

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 HALLOWEEN REVIEWS 2025

Director: Wes Craven

Writer: Kevin Williamson

Stars: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Jada Pinkett, Liev Schreiber



Just as they did in the first film, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson have some witty, metacognitive fun with horror genre conventions in this tale of survivors from the original "Scream" facing off against a copycat. 



Points made include how African Americans are thought to have more realistic responses to horror situations yet are always among the first characters to die, the need for sequels to be gorier than originals, and the commercialization and packaging of spectacular cases of real-world violence.

 


Unfortunately, the rule most effectively dramatized is the one that tells us that sequels are never as good as the original. 



All of the wit is packed into the first 40% of the film. 



By the time we get to the end, it has degenerated into a lot of running and stabbing and pointless plot twists.










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