NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will guest star Kelly Senatra from the Donna Martin Graduates Podcast, who will be reviewing Wes Craven’s classic franchise sequel, ‘Scream 2’. A promo will run before the review.”
NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn our attention back to the fate of our host, Joseph, in Part Two of “A SPACIOUS TRUNK RIDE”.
SCENE: Car trunk interior. The sounds of the highway are heard outside.
JOSEPH: “How long have I been in here?”
NARRATOR: “It had been about two hours since the last call. Joseph had been exploring the phone he found, with its limited options. He had immediately taken to Twitter, but no one believed him. Not after the Big Heads Media takeover earlier this year.”
JOSEPH: “Nice audio drama, Joseph? I’ll give YOU an audio drama!”
NARRATOR: “There were also the attempts to get the driver’s attention, but perhaps his technique was not the best.”
JOSEPH: “You pull this
NARRATOR: “Joseph wasn’t getting out of the trunk any time soon. But he was due for another call."
JOSEPH: “FINALLY!”
JOSEPH: “Hello?”
KELLY: “Yes, I’m... I’m looking for Joseph.”
JOSEPH: “Yes! This is Joseph! I’m so glad you called! I need help!”
KELLY: “Okay. We’ll just need to verify a little information first.”
JOSEPH: “Ummm, okay. But first, can you call the police?”
KELLY: “I can help you with that after verification.”
JOSEPH: “Okay, just ask the questions.”
KELLY: “Okay. First question.”
JOSEPH: “Go on.”
KELLY: “Do you like...”
JOSEPH: “Oh no. Not again.”
KELLY: “HAIRY FOODIES?”
JOSEPH: “Wait, what?”
KELLY: “Like, food snobs with beards?”
JOSEPH: “Stupid telemarketers.”
NARRATOR: “Of course, it didn’t occur to him that she had been his only link to the outside world. At least, not until right... about...”
JOSEPH: “CRAP!”
NARRATOR: “It was the second call he would receive trapped in that trunk, and soon, would come the last. Tune in tomorrow, to find out where this trunk ride of terror is going. It’ll be a... ‘Scream’?”
NARRATOR: *evil laugh*
NARRATOR: “Actually, it will again be a ‘Scream’. ‘Scream 3’ to be precise, with Andrew Orsie from the Good Game, Great Game podcast, a podcast dedicated to reviewing the latest video games. Tune in tomorrow for part three of “A SPACIOUS TRUNK RIDE”!”
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<< DONNA MARTIN GRADUATES PROMO >>
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Today’s movie is “Scream 2” (1997), the horror film directed by horror master Wes Craven, and written for the screen by Kevin Williamson. Two years after the Woodsboro Murders, just as the movie based on their lives, “Stab”, is released, Sydney (Neve Campbell) and Randy’s (Jamie Kennedy) idyllic college campus is rocked by a string of brutal murders. The murders bring the survivors from Woodsboro together, but will they all make it out alive?
Spoilers ahead.
“Scream 2” is a horror sequel that exists in a world that understands the familiar tropes of horror movie sequels. We are introduced to our first trope through Maureen Evens and Phil Stevens, played by Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps, both African Americans. Maureen comments that “the horror genre is historical for excluding the African American element.” And then they are both ceremoniously murdered by someone in a ghost mask during a screening of “Stab”. Maureen’s death scene is particularly gruesome, but also reflects the desensitization of the American population. She stumbles, bloody, through the crowd, who assume it is a publicity stunt and cheer her on. And that is all before the opening credits.
This new rash of murders bring the media in droves to the university, including tabloid reporter Gale Weathers, played by Courtney Cox and her red highlights. Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) rushes to protect Sidney and assist in the investigation, while newly free Cotton Weary (Live Schreiber) seeks to extend his fifteen minutes of fame. Randy, now a film student, compares the current drama with the time worn clichés in previous horror movies: the body count is bigger, the death scenes more elaborate, and he himself says, the movie far inferior. The movie is peppered with celeb cameos; including Laurie Metcalf as ambitious and always on the scene Debbie Salt; Jerry O’Connell as Sydney’s pre-med boyfriend Derek, Timothy Olyphant as Derek’s video loving best friend, Duane Martin as Gale Weathers’ beleaguered camera man, Sarah Michelle Gellar as sober sister CiCi, and Portia De Rossi and Rebecca Gayheart as vapid sorority girls. Since Dewey reveals that the killer is probably already in Sydney’s life, we have a long and diverse list of suspects.
Wes Craven’s crisp editing style and use of sound, or lack thereof, create suspense in rather mundane areas. Kevin Williamson’s script is sharp, comical, and painfully self-aware. Both Maureen Evans and Joel comment on the fate of people of color in horror movies, sober sister CiCi talks on the phone about “Bailey” and “Sarah”, a nod to the show that made Neve Campbell famous, Gale Weathers complains about a nude photo of her that is on the internet, featuring her head and Jennifer Aniston’s body, and when the killer, or killers, is finally revealed, (s)he says that the motive for the rampage is the effects of violence in cinema. A horror movie killer blaming horror movies for their killing? How meta.
“Scream 2” was a fun, irreverent, well-directed addition to the Scream lexicon. Although it wasn’t as fresh, and the kills not as gory as its predecessor, it still manages to take the familiar tropes of the horror movie sequel genre and provide its audience with a thoughtful, self-aware interpretation.
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (CERTIFIED FRESH)
Metacritic: 63
One Movie Punch: 8.0/10
“Scream 2” (1997) is rated R for language and violence, and is available for rent or purchase at PlayStation Vue, Microsoft, Apple, Google Play, Amazon, and Vudu.
