Scream 2 turns 25: Bonus cinematic throwback

1997 was the year of Scream for me. 

I was actually a little late on the original Scream (which I probably should have done a special post on too). I didn't see it until a few months after it came out, when it got re-released. To say I was instantly hooked was an understatement. I literally went back the next day to see it again. Then saw it again a week or two later. And watched it countless times after I taped it off pay per view. But I don't want to make this all about Scream 1. We are here to commemorate Scream 2. 

I'm not sure exactly when I knew a sequel was officially coming, but it became an obsession.

The turnaround on this thing was really quick. Scream 2 hit theaters just under a year after the original, and they were filming it that summer. 

So much of my favorite pop culture stuff in the back half.of the 90s stems from these films. When I saw a big list of who was cast in this sequel (originally to be called The Sequel To Scream) I was hyped about seeing names like Omar Epps, Jada Pinkett (hey, she was a fave at the time) and Elise Neal (who was everywhere that year). But there was also a name I was unfamiliar with: Sarah Michelle Gellar.  I was aware there was a Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show but hadn't watched it and maybe never would have. But I wanted to check out this actress, so I did. And the rest is history there. So this movie led me to my favorite show of all time. And of course Scream writer Kevin Williamson would soon drop Dawson's Creek. And there were so many great horror flicks and high school flicks in that era who at least owe their existence in part to these movies. 

I was ravenous for this movie. I remember finding fake scripts online and reading the whole things. I didn't even know if they were fake, so I could have been spoiling the whole movie. Didn't care. I needed Scream 2 in my life now. And by the time the movie actually came out, a case could be made that it was the single most anticipated movie of my life at that point. 

I fucking loved Scream 2. I fucking love Scream 2 to this day. I think it is the best film in the series. Yeah there is no doubt Scream 1 is more iconic and influential, but 2 is a better movie.

Considering how fast this movie was no doubt written it is astonishing how good it is. While the first movie riffed off horror movies while being aware it is a horror movie, this is a horror sequel that knows it is a horror sequel. It is more ambitious, and carried off with a smooth confidence that still impresses.

In lieu of basically just recapping the plot, I'll hit on a handful of the major scenes.

The opening is a fantastic set piece all on its own, set at a premiere of Stab, the movie within the movie (which is still an ongoing series of its own within the Scream universe). Epps and Pinkett both die. The most horrific thing is how awful that crowd is. Who could watch a movie in that environment? 

Fast forward to the climax and that's a grand, expertly staged (literally) sequence as well, where we have our killer reveals, a couple good fights, the genuinely harrowing death of Jerry O'Connell, and some good comic relief from Liev Schreiber.

Probably the best sequence in the whole thing is the one trapping Neve Campbell and Neal in the back of a crashed cop car, with an unconscious Ghostface in the driver's seat. Masterful tension there. 

This whole era was just peak Neve Campbell. And she's even better here than in the first movie. She's never just a put-upon scream queen. She's playing the trauma all the way. These are tremendously underappreciated performances.

Obviously this sequel brought back David Arquette and Courtney Cox as well, who were a real life couple by then. Their characters were estranged at the start of this movie but I enjoyed all their bickering.

Also back is Jamie Kennedy, whose Randy gets tons of great lines again and is a little more centrally involved in the ploy. Of course, he is also involved in the film's most divisive moment. Randy's death was a big surprise in theaters, and it works in the movie both as a scare and for plot, but I think if Wes Craven and Williamson had been able to go back and change one thing about the movie I think this would be the one change. Randy was even shoehorned in to a Scream 3 cameo because he was so missed. 

Gellar only gets one scene, but it's a terrific one, with some of the best scares in the movie. And god damn is she cute. I had a really hard time accepting her going out so easily after watching her kick ass as Buffy.

I pretty much liked everyone in this. I was so laser focused at the time on Campbell and Gellar that other people didn't pop as much. But Schreiber is great too. This was the first time I ever saw Timothy Olyphant and he's good. I mean even Jerry O'Connell is legitimately good in this. 

Scream 2 was a big hit of course. I saw this thing like 4 times in theaters. Watched it a ton since. I believe it was one of the first DVDs I got. The thing is compulsively rewatchable. It's still my favorite of the series, and I guess by extension probably my favorite horror movie of all time.