Scream 2 (5 Stars)

Scream 2 – The Horror Sequel that Watches Itself Watching You

When Wes Craven released Scream in 1996, it revived the slasher genre by dissecting it – both loving and mocking its clichés. Its sequel, Scream 2, takes that self-reflexive impulse and amplifies it, becoming not only a horror film about horror films, but a horror sequel about the inevitability and predictability of sequels. It's a movie obsessed with its own status as cinema – what it means to depict violence, to consume it and to perform it again and again under the guise of entertainment.

The Meta of the Meta: Watching the Movie Within the Movie

The opening scene of Scream 2 is one of the most audacious metafilm gestures in mainstream horror. Set in a packed cinema showing Stab – a film based on the murders from the first Scream – we are thrust into a spectacle of spectatorship. The audience within the film, masked and gleeful, mirrors the audience watching Scream 2 in real life. Craven transforms the theatre into a mirror maze: viewers watching viewers watching murder as entertainment.

The scene literalises horror's self-awareness while critiquing its consumption. The boundaries between fiction and reality collapse in real time. When Jada Pinkett's character, Maureen Evans, is stabbed to death amid cheering crowds who think it's part of the show, Craven forces us to confront our complicity as horror audiences – our appetite for stylized death and our comfort with seeing certain bodies die first.

Race and the Periphery of the Frame

That opening sequence also foregrounds Scream 2's uneasy engagement with race. The choice to feature two black characters (Jada Pinkett and Omar Epps) in the prologue is not incidental – it's a deliberate metatextual gesture. Their dialogue critiques the horror genre's historical whiteness: Maureen complains that "Black people always get killed first", voicing a long-standing fan frustration and cultural truth about slasher films.

But Craven's choice is double-edged. By having them die in the very next moments, the film acknowledges that critique yet also reproduces it. It's both a self-aware nod and a failure of imagination – a knowing wink that doesn't save the characters from the same fate. This recursive irony is precisely what defines Scream 2's relationship to race: it sees the problem clearly but remains unable (or unwilling) to step outside the structure it mocks.

Beyond the opening, the film reverts to a predominantly white cast, situating its story in a college environment coded as upper-middle-class and implicitly white. The only black characters who speak meaningfully are relegated to brief, marginal roles. Scream 2 thus reflects a broader pattern of 1990's Hollywood diversity: inclusion through commentary, not transformation.

In other words, Scream 2 knows it's participating in exclusion, and calls attention to that fact, but still participates.

The Meta Frame as Social Commentary

What keeps Scream 2 so compelling, however, is that its metafilm sensibility extends beyond just genre rules; it becomes a mode of cultural reflection. The film within the film (Stab) mirrors how the media capitalises on real violence, transforming trauma into spectacle. For Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the survivor of the original film, the existence of Stab turns her pain into entertainment. She's forced to watch her own trauma fictionalised and sold – a meta-commentary on how real-life suffering, especially women's suffering, is endlessly recycled for cultural consumption.

This idea connects back to the racial dynamic of the opening: both Maureen and Sidney are victims of a system that aestheticises violence differently depending on who's watching. The Stab audience cheers Maureen's death; the media profits from Sidney's survival. Both are products in the machinery of spectacle.

Conclusion: Self-Aware but Not Self-Transcendent

Scream 2 remains one of the sharpest horror sequels ever made precisely because it knows it cannot escape its own reflection. It's trapped in the feedback loop of representation: critiquing what it reproduces, reproducing what it critiques. Its metafilm brilliance lies in this tension: the recognition that awareness alone doesn't equate to change.

When Jada Pinkett's Maureen dies screaming in a theatre full of spectators who mistake it for performance, Scream 2 asks us a haunting question: if horror knows it's problematic, and we know that it knows, why do we keep watching?

Success Rate:  + 5.2

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Scream 2 (5 Stars)

Gale Weathers and Dewey get off to a rough start in "Scream 2". Dewey accuses Gale of exploiting Sidney by writing a book about her mother's murder.

But they can't resist one another. An hour later they enjoy their first kiss.

Within minutes Gale is all over him. She's the apex predator. When she wants a man she takes him, and the small town policeman is unable to resist.

That's as far as they get. There's a killer in the next room watching them.

Wait for the next film to see how the romance continues.

Success Rate:  + 5.2

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Scream 2 (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #60

"Scream 2" was  made in 1997, only a year after "Scream". Was a sequel even possible? The serial killer died at the end of the first film. That's become the style of the Scream franchise. In every film the killer dies, and in the next film another person puts on the Ghostface mask and continues his work. This is usually considered copycat killing, but in the case of the Scream films it's more. The new killers aren't just imitating the ones who went before, they're becoming the killer.

In "Scream 2" the metafilm aspect begins. A film called "Stab" is being shown. It's based on a book written about the events in "Scream". Excerpts of "Stab" are shown in the cinema which repeat the dialogue from "Scream" with new actors. This is a very intelligent story, and it's part of what makes "Scream 2" such a good film.

"Scream 2" takes place in an unnamed town in Ohio, far away from Woodsboro, California. That's more than 2000 miles away, but the cast members of the original film are all gathered in the new location. Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are studying in Windsor College. The others flock to the town when the first murders take place. Some want to be close to Sidney to help her, while others, such as the reporter Gale Weathers, see it as a publicity opportunity.

Visitors of the sneak preview are given Ghostface costumes, which many immediately put on. I hope the masks were more comfortable than the one I bought. No, I'm not a serial killer. I bought a Ghostface outfit as a Halloween costume in 2014. The cloak itself was very comfortable, but the mask was so clammy that I couldn't wear it for more than five minutes at a time.

This is me threatening a young lady. She was supposed to scream, but she knew me too well to be frightened of me. I don't have it in me to be a serial killer.

Maybe the problem is just that my pink-haired friend isn't a good actress. I'm sure Neve Campbell wasn't really scared on the film set, but she convincingly expressed fear.

So did Sarah Michelle Gellar. It's a shame she was killed so early in the film. I would like to have seen more of her in the sequels.

Liev Screiber is an outstanding actor. He'd already appeared in other films, including a non-speaking cameo in "Scream", but this was his breakthrough role.

While not as important in film history as "Scream", I consider "Scream 2" to be almost as good as "Scream". I've reflected this by putting them side by side in my top films list. I've chosen not to include "Scream 3" in my list. I'll watch it again later this year to decide whether it was a mistake.

Success Rate:  + 5.2

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Cursed [2005] (4 Stars)

This is a film I haven't watched for a long time. I couldn't even remember what it was about or who starred in it. I picked it up when I was making a selection of films I want to get rid of. Once every few years I pick up every DVD and Blu-ray in my collection, look at it, and ask myself if I'm likely to watch it again. I don't fill my bookcases with films just to have a collection I can boast about. The last time I trimmed my collection was in 2016, and the next time will be in early 2020.

This is definitely a film I'll keep. It was directed by Wes Craven and produced by Kevin Williamson, which is always a good team, although it's not up to the quality of "Scream". The film seems inconsistent. It starts off with suspense and frequent horror film jump scares. Then it settles into a mystery. Then comes the main action/fight scene, which lasts a good 20 minutes, longer than expected, but so good that it could have lasted longer. The film is rounded off with a slow moving epilogue that seems out of place after the previous fast pacing.

Ellie (Christina Ricci) lives with her younger brother Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg). It's not clear what's happened to their parents, but it was probably a tragedy, because they frequently look at an old family photo. Ellie and Jimmy are involved in a car crash when they hit an animal and skid onto the other side of the road, knocking another car into the bushes. They witness the driver of the other car being dragged away by a large wolf. Both of them are scratched by the wolf.

Over the following days both of them display strange symptoms. They develop a taste for raw meat and a pentagram forms on their right hands. The second symptom alone would be enough to make me run to the doctor... or the nearest Catholic priest. They suspect that there are other werewolves among their friends, but no one will admit it.

Though not a great film, "Cursed" is enjoyable and worth wathing more than once. The acting is excellent from the young people who look like teens even though they're older. Hollywood makeup works miracles. I wonder if I could be made to look like a teen. I don't understand why the film was a box office failure. The critics didn't like it, but that doesn't usually put people off. The viewing public is fickle.

Success Rate:  - 1.3

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Cruel Intentions (3 Stars)

This is one of the many film adaptations of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 18th Century novel, "Dangerous Liaisons". It's a tribute to the power of the novel that it's always relevant, whether it's set in 1960's Paris, in 1930's Shanghai or as in this film, in 1990's New York. What's common to every version is that we see the idle rich spending their time with sexual encounters and revenge schemes.

In this version Kathrynn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont are brother and sister in name only. They live in the same house after their parents married, but there's no connection by blood. Sebastian is a womaniser who has slept with many girls, mostly the daughters of rich families in New York, but the girl he desires the most is his sister. That's hardly surprising, considering Kathrynn is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kathrynn knows what Sebastian wants and uses it to control him. She flirts with him, partially exposing herself in front of him and rubbing her body against his. He's helpless in her hands.

Kathrynn was recently dumped by her boyfriend in favour of an innocent young girl, Cecile. She asks Sebastian to seduce Cecile to break up the relationship. He's reluctant to do this because he wants to seduce Annette Hargrove, the daughter of his school's principal, before the next term starts. Kathrynn can't wait that long, so she turns up the pressure. She writhes on her brother's lap and promises him he can sleep with her after he succeeds in his task.

The story has several twists and turns as it progresses. In the early parts of the film Sebastian seems like the bad guy, but as it progresses we see that he's the victim of his manipulative sister. She's playing other games that aren't apparent at first. The tagline of the German release of this film is

"Love is a game in which there are no winners".

That's very cynical, but it fits this film.

This is a sleek, sexy adaptation of "Dangerous Liaisons". The music and the atmosphere give it the feeling of a teen comedy. For me that's the film's greatest weakness. It's difficult to accept teenagers as being so evil and manipulative.

In the film we see an article in the magazine Seventeen in which Annette Hargrove praises the values of celibacy. She begins with admirable words:

"With teenage pregnancy on the rise and the growing concern of teens contracting HIV, one would think that my virgin status would be the norm, not the exception. However, as I enter my senior year at Manchester Prep, I am all too aware that many of my peers may view me as weird because I haven't had sex yet. It's not that I can't get a date. In fact I have a terrific boyfriend. We just feel that people our age are too young to actually understand what love is, and therefore we are waiting until we reach a more mature stage of our relationship. Most teens I know live their lives day to day, without a care in the world, and that's the way we should be during adolescence. But when you add sex into this carefree lifestyle the consequences can be devastating for both the individuals and the relationship".

Those are wonderful words. But how does she continue?

"Now is the likda dihaindj jasion doi ths kifop Imcha vitme sando wital cuartc juccly onma caucl woiml kichr".

She repeats the same gibberish for two pages. If you don't believe me, click on the photo above for a closer look. If she's run out of things to say she should just stop talking. Maybe she isn't serious about waiting till marriage after all. The magazine should never have interviewed her. It's all very sloppy.

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Scream 2 (5 Stars)

Public health warning: Cigarettes kill more people than masked serial killers.

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Scream 2 (5 Stars)

After watching "I know what you did last summer" and "I still know what you did last summer" two days ago I've decided to continue with the teen slasher theme for this Christmas. If you can't watch horror films at Christmas, when can you watch them?

In my opinion, the time from 1996 to 2000 was the pinnacle of horror films. In those five years the best five horror films of all time were made, all of them teen slasher movies, and nothing since has even come close. That's the two aforementioned films and the Scream trilogy.

What made them so good? Two names are connected with them more than any others. Wes Craven directed the three Scream films.

Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay for the first two Scream films and "I know what you did last summer".

That doesn't mean that these two giants of cinema were solely responsible. Neither of them were involved with "I still know what you did last summer", but it was nevertheless a brilliant film. They reunited to make "Scream 4" in 2011 which was a very good film, but not up to the standard of the first three.

Wes Craven passed away last August. Kevin Williamson is still active, though mostly in television series, including "The Vampire Diaries". I'm hoping that a new film of similar brilliance will be made, with or without his participation.

Scream 2 (5 Stars)

I've had a busy week, but as promised I've got round to watching "Scream 2" in remembrance of Wes Craven. I don't know how many times I've watched it already. Today was the third time since September 2010, which was when I started recording what I watch, but I don't know how many times I watched it before then. Another three times? More often? And yet it still gripped me today. Even though I knew what would happen next from the beginning to the end of the film it still thrilled me. As I've said before, I define a good film as a film that I want to watch at least three times. That would mean that "Scream 2" is a very good film.

I don't want to say much about the film itself in this post. If you want to know more about the film read this post instead.

Last year was the first time I ever dressed up for Halloween. I picked the Ghostface outfit from the Scream films as my costume. Yes, that's yours truly, Dancer aka Dansator in the picture above slicing up a cheerleader. I don't intend to wear the costume again. The mask is made of rubber, and it was so hot underneath that I couldn't wear it for more than five minutes. It was awful. I felt a lot more comfortable attacking my victims without a mask.

I was trying my best to look evil, but somehow I just couldn't do it. I often say, "I'm a dancer, not a fighter". In this case I should replace the word "fighter" with "killer". For someone who watches as many horror films as I do, I'm a remarkably non-violent person. It's one of the themes of "Scream 2" that films turn people into killers. It isn't true. Anyone who says that a film made him a killer is lying; he was a killer all along, just waiting for an excuse to start.

Scream 2 (5 Stars)

"It's a dumb-ass white move about some dumb-ass white girls getting their white asses cut the fuck up".

That's the cliché about horror films stated by college student Maureen Evans at the beginning of this film. While it might have applied to "Scream", the statement isn't true for "Scream 2". The first two people killed in this film are black. Three cheers for racial equality!

"Scream 2" was released in 1997, one year after the first film. Wes Craven already had ideas in his head for this film, because in "Scream" the film nerds were talking about sequels, for instance how to survive until the sequel. The whole film within a film idea is expanded in "Scream 2", when we see that a film called "Stab" is made about the events of the first film. People dressed as the killer, often referred to as Ghostface, sit in the cinema alongside normal people, the victims, to watch the film. This is clever in so many different ways.

One of the important things about slasher movies, as already defined in the 1980's by films such as "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", is that the killer is invincible, often in a supernatural way. Whatever is done to him, he keeps coming back. This pattern is repeated here. The original killer (or rather killers) died in the first film. Ghostface is dead and buried. And yet he returns in this film. Someone else puts on the mask. It's as if there's a mystical Ghostface entity possessing someone new to make him continue the killing spree. And once more Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is the centre of attention. It's the people around her who are targeted in preparation for her to die as the final victim.

"Scream 2" is darker and less comedic than the first film, but that doesn't detract from its quality. It's every bit as good as "Scream". The best way to enjoy it is to watch it shortly after the first film, as I did.

I almost forgot to mention Liev Schreiber. He only appeared briefly in the first film, but in "Scream 2" he plays an important role. For me this is the film that established him as a world class actor. He's much more skilled than other actors who receive more awards. His performance as Ernst Hanfstaengl in "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" was nothing short of amazing. Some actors never seem to get the recognition they deserve.

TV Series: Dawson's Creek

I recently began to watch "Dawson's Creek" again. It's a series I can keep returning to, even though I have to admit that after the first two seasons it wasn't as good. Somewhere in the third season the stories began to turn in circles and never stopped. But maybe the reason is that I could relate best to the early years when the cast was youngest. Or at least, when the characters were youngest. When the series began the four school friends were supposed to be 15, although the actors playing them were between 18 and 21.

It's the series' teen angst that fascinates me most, especially the character of Dawson Leery himself. I can relate to him. He thought about everything, he analysed everything, and he understood nothing. I miss those days. Sure, I knew a lot less than I do now, but I do miss those days of naive innocence. I just watched the episode in the second season in which it's Dawson's 16th birthday. He went to a blues club, got drunk, then went home to his birthday party and insulted everyone, including his parents. I don't remember what happened on my 16th birthday. It can't have been as memorable. I wish I could turn back the clock and be back on that day now.

My teen years were a difficult time, especially between the ages of 16 and 20. When I was 16 I had my first girlfriend. And my second. And my third. I was a late starter, but I quickly became so successful with girls that my friends envied me. Maybe it was my long blond hair? Nobody knew about the suffering I had inside. When I was 18 my mother developed a drinking problem. I tried to kill myself because I couldn't deal with what she had become. When I was 20 she left home to be with another man, and she seriously expected me to go and live with her. The poor deluded woman. I believed in eternal love. I believed in happy families. I was naive then. I wish I could be like that again.

It's ironic. Despite all the pain, I wish I could be back in those years. I wish I could be trapped in a time loop from the ages of 16 to 20. I feel like I'm 16 inside, whatever age I might look. I want to win back the carefree attitude of that age. I want the angst back. Angst? I invented it.