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Scream 2 At Briarwood & Showcase |
But with that single film, the horror industry was seemingly revitalized, and now we're faced with a string of copycat teenybopper thrillers such as "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and now "Scream 2," the highly anticipated sequel to that visionary film.
The problem with this trend is that nobody is screaming. The original "Scream" was clever, fun and howlingly funny; it was a unique gem, a subversive, tongue-in-cheek homage to the slasher movies of the '70s and '80s.
But scary it was not (unless you consider jumping in your seat a couple of times scary). Now Hollywood thinks that they can ride on that film's coattails by attempting to replicate it countless times until every last penny is squeezed out of the concept, never mind that in the process they'll squeeze every last bit of freshness and creativity out of it as well.
Although "Scream" was one-of-a-kind, here we are feeling very old sitting in a theater packed with rowdy teens (and, unfortunately for their tender psyches, pre-teens) waiting for the inevitable sequel, cleverly titled "Scream 2." I must admit that if anyone is going to attempt a follow-up to "Scream," at least it's the same brilliant team as the original: director Wes Craven, writer Kevin Williamson and a slew of the most attractive young actors you'll ever see assembled in one place.
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| Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers in 'Scream 2.'
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Once we move to the primary setting, the campus of fictional Windsor College, we are presented with a sparkling in-class debate about the inevitable failure of movie sequels. Perhaps "Scream 2" can muster as much self-mocking wit and pop-culture commentary as the first, after all, or die trying.
Indeed, Craven and Williamson have managed to eke out a film that is almost as funny, almost as tricky and (no pun intended) almost as sharp as the original. The plot is identical, except that it now takes place in the supposedly more mature setting of a college campus. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now a freshman at lovely Windsor, is finally getting over the trauma of the Woodsboro murders when, as the trailer puts it, somebody takes their love of sequels a little too far. Bodies start piling up in the usual fashion, and it is up to Sidney, reunited with doofus-cop Dewey (David Arquette) and Weathers, to escape the stalkings of the sad-ghost-masked killer once again.
Some other familiar faces return, including cheeky Randy (Jamie Kennedy), now a student at Windsor as well, and Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), a free man since Weathers' book proved his innocence. There are some new faces as well, but don't worry, they're just as pretty as the rest of the gang. The mystery lies in the identity of the killer, and, once again, the filmmakers do a wonderful job of making everyone a suspect, never leaving more than a hint as to whodunit.
In essence, this is the same movie as "Scream," except that the novelty is gone. It is injected with a similar wit and wisdom as the first, but it is diluted. Nonetheless, Craven has not lost his touch to excite us, and there are some truly marvelous, chilling and, above all, heart-stopping scenes here (even more so than the original). He also plays with aural motifs for great effect, like a hilariously out-of-place guitar riff whenever Dewey appears.
Though the end is a surprise, it is also a disappointment. The film resorts to trickery: instead of keeping the killer's identity a mystery to us through clever cover-up writing, his/her identity is a surprise because the character is kept hidden from us entirely for most of the film - it is just thrown at us like a bone that we're expected to chew on but never wonder where it came from. Still, whether it's in laughter, fright or sheer awe of Neve Campbell's beauty, I guarantee you'll scream.
01-08-98
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