Scream 2Movie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 63 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    This funny, gory stab-athon is as sophisticated about the mechanics of Part 2s as the original was savvy about horror flicks. Read full review

  • 90
    Salon.com | Andrew O'Hehir

    Inevitably a little patchier and less startlingly original than its predecessor -- S2 is an ingenious, often hilarious, movie that does nothing to diminish the well-deserved cult reputation of its director. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | David Rooney

    Visceral, witty and appropriately redundant, the sequel has a winning commercial recipe that's certain to cook up excellent returns in all areas. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Though Craven satirizes horror cliches, he also knows how to cut through them and do new things. Throughout, the action comes unexpectedly and quickly. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Only a few sequels have been as good as the originals; the characters especially like "Aliens'' and "The Godfather, Part II.'' As for Scream 2, it's ... well, it's about as good as the original. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post |

    Early on, Randy suggests of sequels that "by definition they are inferior." That may be, but Scream 2 is more disappointing than it is inferior. Like its predecessor, it's both frightening and funny, just not as singularly classy. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Elvis Mitchell

    Even if you haven't spent as much obsessive time at the video store as these guys have, you might enjoy helping 'Scream 2' laugh all the way to the bank. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    [Craven's] stroke of genius is to offer the horror movie in an ironic mode. He's winking at viewers and inviting them to share a clever conspiracy that we on the cholesterol-clogged side of 30 cannot begin to understand. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Jay Carr

    I'm not sure that I really want to see "Scream 3,'" but Craven, Williamson, and the screamers certainly bring this one off by not only slapping all their cards on the table, but insisting we admire the way they play them. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Thomas

    Contrivance and a horrendous body count combine to yield a morbid effect for discriminating filmgoers, despite a comic tone. Still, there's enough ingenuity and scariness to please plenty of fans of the first film. Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Slightly milder sequel to the post-modern slasher.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that, while the carnage isn't as extreme as it was in the first SCREAM, bloodshed and stabbings are still abundant. So is foul language, and a portrayal of a college campus environment as a place where nobody ever seems to be caught studying, just partying and pledging fraternities and sororities.
  • Families can talk about the sneaky way the script talks up the effects of violence in the media upon society (even the killer's secret game plan involves the controversy), but indulges in the same violence. Is SCREAM 2 making a serious point about the negative effects of screen terror, or just pretending to while it becomes a thrill-ride massacre itself?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Tough, plucky central figure Sidney is, as always, the most normal among a cast of shifty, possible mass-murder suspects. David Arquette's noble but goofy deputy Dewey is a certifiably nice guy.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Vicious stabbings, close-range shootings, and hand-to-hand fighting.
  • sex false3 Sex: Characters refer to sex, though not as often as in the last film. Two police officers are sniggeringly suggested to be homosexuals.
  • language false5 Language: Abundant profanity.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Primarily references to other horror movies.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Alcohol is very popular on this campus, who knew?

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