DVD/150: SCREAM 2 (Wes Craven, 1997)

"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate - more blood, more gore - *carnage candy*. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead."

...yet the character who says that ends up dead!  That is the schadenfreude of the SCREAM films, the characters know what not to do in horror films, but still end up doing them to escape Ghostface.

Wes Craven's sequel to his game-changing SCREAM is undeniably smart and enjoyable but the climax is so lame that it leaves what has gone before becalmed.

Kevin Williamson had to rewrite his script after it had been leaked online - a twist that out-meta'd him - which might explain the weak ending.

The returning cast outshine the anonymous new cast members.

Shelf or charity shop?  I think SCREAM 2 can terrorise the charity shop shelves...  As I said, it's enjoyable in itself and the original SCREAM cast - Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Kennedy - all deliver but most of the new characters have no time to make an impression so you just wait for them to be offed.  The shame is Jada Pinkett, Omar Epps and Sarah Michelle Gellar do deliver before Ghostface attacks.

DVD/150: SCREAM (Wes Craven, 1996)

After slashing 1980s cinema screens with the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise, Wes Craven did the same in the 1990s with SCREAM, only with an ironic twist.

High school student Casey is terrorised and murdered by a masked killer.  Her classmates - all horror film aficionados - wonder what might happen next using the 'rules' of the genre.

For Sidney Prescott it also marks a year since her mother's murder.  Her mother's lover was found guilty but among the newly-arrived news reporters is pushy Gale Weathers, the author of a book on the Prescott murder which questions his guilt.

With her father away on business, Sidney is invited to stay at her friend's house... but then the killer calls...

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson and Craven delight in their students breaking all the horror films rules: they DO answer the phone, they DO stay in the house, and they DO wander off alone...

Shelf or charity shop?  It's stalking the other DVDs on the shelf.  Scary and smart, SCREAM is a repeatable pleasure.  Wes Craven knew exactly when to ramp up the tension and his cast all deliver sparky, engaged performances - Drew Barrymore is a perfect choice to be SCREAM's Janet Leigh, Neve Campbell makes a sympathetic scream queen while Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowan and Matthew Lillard all deliver as her horror fan class-mates (although what they are still doing in school in their mid-twenties is beyond me).  The "grown ups" are also nicely played by Courteney Cox as the relentless Gayle Weathers and David Arquette has a real charm as sheriff Dewey.  This was the first - and best - of the SCREAM franchise which collapsed under the weight of it's own Meta-ness.