"Do You Like Scary Movies?" Re-Watch: Scream 2

 "Scream 2" (1997)

Sidney Prescott: "Yeah? Well, you're forgetting one thing about Billy Loomis."

Mickey Altieri: "What's that?"

Sidney Prescott: "I fucking killed him."

Sidney Prescott: "You're as crazy as your son was."

Debbie Salt: [shocked] "What did you just say?"

[Sidney trembles]

Debbie Salt: "Was that a negative, disparaging remark about my son? About my Billy?

Sidney Prescott: "No, Billy was a good boy. Billy was perfect. You did a bang up job, Mrs. Loomis."

Debbie Salt: "It's not wise to patronize a woman with a gun, Sidney. Randy spoke poorly of Billy and I got a little knife happy."

One of my formative teenage memories is seeing "Scream 2" in the theater with my mom. I remember that it was really cold outside. My mom had to go with me because I was only 14 and the Newton theater definitely wouldn't let me sneak in because everyone who worked there knew me. My mom was super surprised that I wanted to go because I do not like any sort of scary/horror movies. This was like the first scary movie I ever saw in a theater. And let me tell you. I was scared during this movie. My mom was cool as a cucumber. She didn't jump. Didn't move. She looked bored, honestly and I was afraid to go to the bathroom. When we left, she did this like full body shiver and said she was scared and I was gobsmacked. 

Principal photography on "Scream 2" began in mid-June 1997 and ended in early September 1997. It was an extremely rushed production. The film suffered from script leaks on the internet causing the script to be re-written during filming with cast members consistently being given same day pages. It was released less than a year after the premiere of the original. That is wild. The film stars David Arquette as Dewey Riley, Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Cici Cooper, Jamie Kennedy as Randy Meeks, Laurie Metcalfe as Debbie Salt, Elise Neal as Hallie McDaniel, Jerry O'Connell as Derek Feldman, Timothy Olyphant as Mickey Altieri, Jada Pinkett as Maureen Evans, Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary, Lewis Arquette as Chief Louis Hartley, Duane Martin as Joel, Omar Epps as Phil Stevens, Rebecca Gayheart as Lois and Portia de Rossi as Murphy. The film was written by Kevin Williamson. It was directed by Wes Craven. "Scream 2" was released on December 12, 1997.

Never see a movie again.

I'm not sure if this is a controversial "Scream" fandom opinion but for me, "Scream 2" is not just my favorite of the series, but it maybe the best of the series. And that is definitely a hill that I am happy to die on. The original is amazing. It's a classic, hands down. And "Scream 2" wouldn't exist without the OG. But I think that "Scream 2" takes everything that is great about the first film and amplifies it. It introduces an iconic element that remains with the series to this day. Also, in today's entertainment world, if you heard that a sequel was being rushed out and that the script was being re-written on the fly, you'd expect the movie to be hot garbage. But "Scream 2" most definitely is not. It was critically acclaimed. It's a legit great movie. That hardly ever happens.

It's been two years since the events of the Woodsboro Massacre. Survivors Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are attending Windsor College in Ohio. Things seem to be going well until two Windsor College seniors are murdered in a showing of the movie "Stab" which is a fictionalized take on the events of "Scream" based on a book written by Gale Weathers. Soon a new Ghostface killer is terrorizing Windsor College and looking to finish what Billy Loomis and Stu Macher started.

"Scream 2" introduces the "Stab" film franchise which is an integral part of the "Scream" series. The original is based on the book "The Woodsboro Murders" which Gale wrote. I love that filmed versions of "Stab" scenes that are basically parodies of scenes from the original movie. You get Heather Graham as Casey Becker. Luke Wilson as Billy. And, of course, Tori Spelling as Sidney. The Tori Spelling part is hilarious because in "Scream" Sidney predicts that someone would cast Tori Spelling in the movie of her life. The meta aspect of the "Scream" franchise is one of the things that people immediately think of when think of it and "Stab" is that meta aspect personified. The fictional franchise is mentioned today and they even weave it into the opening kills of "Scream 4." Stay tuned. And it is a major part of the plot of "Scream 3." Again, stay tuned.

The opening of "Scream 2"is a classic. It takes place at a premiere opening of "Stab." People are running up and down the aisles in Ghostface costumes with glow in the dark knives. It really perfectly sets up one of the underlying themes of the movie which is how real life violence is influenced by cinematic violence and how de-sensitized we are to violence in general as a culture. This is something that is still extremely timely. I mean, look at all the true crime podcasts that are so popular. Along with documentaries and limited series that are based on these documentaries and podcasts. People wear clothes that have real life serial killers on them which is so fucked up to me. 

The opening scene of "Scream 2" comments on the lack of African Americans in the slasher and horror genre in particular. I'm not sure if this movie really does much to change that. I think it's great that it does this meta commentary and tries to subvert it by having Maureen and Phil as the opening kills, but aside from them, and they are killed in the opening minutes, the only other major character of color is Sidney's roommate, Hallie. I think that maybe I would feel differently if they had been able to go through with the original plan which was to have Hallie be one of the killers. None of this is to say that the opening scene isn't great because it is. It is tense. It is scary. I love how things change on a dime. It's kind of funny and cute and then the next thing you know Steve is getting stabbed in the head through a bathroom stall. Maureen getting stabbed to death in front of all these people is wild and it signals to the audience from the jump that this movie is already at an 11. Also, imagine, squeamish, scared fourteen year old Eric watching that opening scene and immediately deciding that he will not be going to the bathroom until he gets home.

Buffy would demolish this guy.

The core trio of "Scream" actors are back and they are elevated and evolved in this sequel. Neve Campbell continues to make Sidney more and more iconic. Sidney has been expecting something like this to happen again since Woodsboro. She doesn't seem surprised when she sees the news report about the murders in the theater. She springs into action. It's the reason that she answers the phone at the sorority party. Why else would she answer that phone when it's ringing. She's reserved. She just wants to get it over with. Sidney's trauma has seeped into every part of her being. It forces her to do things that she doesn't want to do. It immediately causes her to distrust her boyfriend and distance herself from the new friends she's made. How can they really be friends of hers when she's just waiting to find out that they are secretly trying to kill her.

It makes perfect sense that Sidney would choose theater as her major and this also leads to one of my favorite scenes in "Scream 2." The snippet of "Cassandra Aria" which is performed by Sidney. It was written by Danny Elfman specifically for the movie which is so fucking cool. It serves as this really cool visual of what is going on in Sidney's mind at this time. When she spots Ghostface among the other actors on stage, Wes Craven directs it like you aren't sure if he's there or if this is all in Sidney's mind. I love that you can argue it both ways. Yes, you do see the Ghostface slipping away at the tail end of the scene, but you could also argue that all the pressure that Sidney is under is really getting to her and because she expects to be tormented by Ghostface at every turn that he's not there at all and this is just a breaking point for her.

I think "Scream 2" solidifies Dewey and Gale as one of the most tragic romantic couples in film history. Yeah, I said that. It was clear in the original that they had a ton of chemistry, but you got the impression that Gale was just using Dewey but in "Scream 2" you really see them flesh it out and you realize that she really does love him. She just can't let go of these dreams of fame to allow herself to really love him. Arquette brings new facets to the character of Dewey. There is still that goofy charm but you see the instincts and the smarts more in this movie than you did in the original. Gale is refreshing in so much as that Gale never really changes. She never really learns her lesson. She's never not ready to stab someone in the back or look out for herself. And I actually really love that. I think that in some ways people don't really change. That you get to a point in your life and you're kind of just who you are and Gale is a great example of that. And Gale pays the price for that. Whether it's Dewey's ire after he read what she wrote about him in "The Woodsboro Murders" or Sidney decking her again when Gale tries to spring a surprise Cotton Weary interview on her.

Speaking of Cotton Weary, Liev Schreiber gets his time to shine in "Scream 2." We don' see much of Cotton in the original, but in the sequel, Cotton is determined to get his fifteen minutes of fame. He sees it as a reward for being falsely imprisoned. I think in the original you don't think of Cotton much at all but I don't think you'd think he'd be this fame hungry dude and so it's kind of brilliant that is who he becomes. He's so self centered. He has no real concern with what is happening around him as long as he gets mentioned. It's great that it's Cotton who saves the day but only after Sidney agrees to a Diane Sawyer interview. Which, I really wish we would have gotten to see snippets of. We never get confirmation that Sidney did the interview but I really hope she did. 

"Scream 2" is a who's who of young Hollywood from the late '90's. Everyone knows that Sarah Michelle Gellar is famously killed by Ghostface and "Justified's" Timothy Olyphant is Micky, but you also, get a brief glimpse of Joshua Jackson in film class. Rebecca Gayheart and the future Mrs. Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi, as vapid sorority girls. If you grew up during the '90's you are going to spend a lot of this movie going "oh, there's that person" or "there they are." 

"Gotcha" journalism

I think we have to really give it up for Laurie Metcalf. When I first saw this movie, I was really only familiar with her as Aunt Jackie from "Roseanne." I didn't realize she was this amazing actress and if you don't know that, I implore you to check out some of her other work. She's phenomenal in the movie "Lady Bird" or the HBO series "Getting On," which is a really underrated gem. She's spectacular and she's great in "Scream 2." Whether she is all up Gale Weather's ass as local Post Telegraph reporter, Debbie Salt or as the wildly unhinged Mrs. Loomis, Metcalf delivers and when she's on screen you can't take your eyes off of her. If you are familiar with "Scream 2" lore at all, you know that after the script leaked the killer reveal had to be tweaked and instead of Hallie being the killer, they made it Billy's mom. For me, it's one of the greatest killer reveals of the series because you don't see it coming. Mickey is completely obvious, but who would have thought that the second killer would be Mrs. Loomis. Sure, it doesn't make a ton of sense when you look at it too hard but Metcalf sells it and some of my favorite scenes in the movie are when she and Sidney have their final act confrontation. 

Randy goes over the rules of a sequel in "Scream 2" and the movie follows them pretty closely. The death scenes in "Scream 2" definitely up the ante from the original. There is the death of Cici Cooper where she gets chucked off the balcony of the Omega Beta Zeta House after being stabbed in the back twice. One of my favorite bits of "Scream" related trivia is that the person that Cici is talking to on the phone before the killer calls is voiced by Gellar's "Cruel Intentions" co-star and good friend, Selma Blair. There is the out of control car scene with the cop on the hood who gets the metal bar right through his head. That is probably the most gruesome kill of the movie and maybe one of the most gruesome kills of the entire franchise.

The kill that hits the hardest though is the death of Randy Meeks. Going in to "Scream 2," you get the feeling that not all of the survivors of the original are going to make it out alive. So, when Randy is talking to Ghostface on the phone on the commons you get the feeling that his number is up. But you still hope. Hope that maybe you're wrong. I love how the commons goes from being crowded to being eerily isolated the longer that Randy talks on the phone. This is also the ballsiest kill of any of the "Scream" movies. Ghostaface pulling Randy in to Joel's news van and stabbing him to death in broad daylight? You got to admire the moxie.

My girls.

"Scream 2" has some of the tensest scenes in the entire series. There are scenes in "Scream 2" where I was legit on the edge of my movie seat when I watched it the first time. The first of those is when Gale is being pursued through the music studio by Ghostface. My heart was in my throat as I watched Gale maneuver her way through those sound proof barriers barely staying one step ahead of Ghostface. Gale may get away but Dewey isn't so lucky. He's stabbed while Gale watches on which is like heartbreaking because they had just made up.

The other super tense scene is when Sidney and Hallie are trapped in the back of the cop car after it crashes and Ghostface is unconscious behind the driver's seat. I remember saying "oh no" out loud when I realized that Sidney was going to crawl over him to get out the broken window of the car. I will say when I watch a movie like this I am on high alert for jump scares because I hate them and I'm usually pretty good at spotting them. But, when Sidney is reaching for the Ghostface mask and accidentally lays on the horn, I probably jumped like a foot in the air. They got me, gal.

There's not a ton that I can add to the heaps of praise that have already been piled on Kevin Williamson's script and Wes Craven's direction. Williamson knows these characters inside and out. I think the script for "Scream 2" is funnier and scarier than the original. But I don't think it ever veers into self parody unlike some of the later films in the franchise. Craven's direction is assured and the reason the above scenes are as tense as they are is because of Craven. He's a master of his craft and he does everything right.

"Scream 2" is a great movie. It's one of my all-time favorite movies. I was super happy I went to see the 25th anniversary screening of it last year. If you haven't watched "Scream 2" this spooky season, what are you waiting for? If you only watch one "Scream" movie this Halloween, you should make it "Scream 2."

Next up, the set of the newest "Stab" film is terrorized by Ghostface drawing Sidney out of hiding.

What do you all think? What is your favorite moment from "Scream 2?" Was there something I missed? Let me know in the comments.