As part of the Slasher Studios Horror Film Club, we have two great reviews from you today from the always wonderful Brian C Tyler. This is the first of the two reviews, this one being for the second chapter in the Scream series. It is my personal favorite. Let’s see if Brian feels the same way…
SCREAM 2 is everything we could have hoped for in a sequel. All the characters we know and love have returned along with lots of new, fresh faces to fall in love with, suspect and watch die. It also helped that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson returned to write and direct.
This sequel will always hold a special place in my heart for being the first horror film I’ve ever seen in theaters. However, this film has much more than nostalgia going for it. The opening scene, while a bit over-the-top and not as scary as that in the original, is a brilliant comment on us, the fans. Maureen, bloodied and near death, letting out a loud cry for help as the crowd cheers, is a very powerful moment and the greatness of the film is just beginning. We’re immediately re-introduced to Sidney and Randy, now attending college with a new circle of friends, and then Gale and Dewey. They’ve all dealt with the tragedy in their own ways, and are now trying to move on. However, just because we saw them survive before does not mean they are safe or beyond suspicion. The performances are still dead on, sometimes even better than in the original. The new characters are also very lovable and we have many more amazing references and homages to horror film, particularly sequels.
The best thing about this sequel, though, is the suspense. There’s so many great stalk/chase sequences that have you on the edge of your seat no matter how many times you’ve seen the film. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sorority house death is a great old-school stalk, chase and kill scene. And both Gale’s chase and Sidney and Hallie in the cop car are two scenes that make my heart race every time I watch the movie. It’s all topped with an epic climax, with lots of twists, suspense and great dialog that makes me smile every time I watch it. This is definitely the best sequel and one of the most intense and clever slasher films of the last twenty years.