SCREAM 2 (Miramax) Here's a shocker for you: A sequel that's just as much fun as the original. Fans of last year's surprise smash "Scream" are unlikely to be disappointed by "Scream 2," which, if anything, is even funnier and scarier than Part One. "I don't like being scared," grumbles Maureen (Jada Pinkett) as her boyfriend Phil (Omar Epps) drags her into a sneak preview of "Stab," an exploitation film based on the Woodsboro murders. "But scary movies are great foreplay," Phil insists. What he's forgetting is that in the world of slasher films, sex typically equals death: No one will be startled to find out that Maureen and Phil don't survive through Reel One of either "Stab" or "Scream 2," since their deaths are required to start screenwriter Kevin Williamson's plot in motion. And what a clever plot it is, spiked by hip one-liners that knowingly poke fun at such targets as Sandra Bullock, sorority sisters and the sad state of sequels in general. There are also good-natured jabs at the TV careers of Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, both of whom reprise their "Scream" roles as, respectively, the tormented Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers, the self-centered journalist who has built her career on reporting Sidney's travails. Gale has even tracked Sidney to the small-town college where she was hoping to put the violence of her past behind her; Gale wants to squeeze one more story out of Sidney on the weekend that "Stab" opens nationwide. The murders at the "Stab" screening turn out to be just a preview of coming attractions, however, as another maniac begins stalking Sidney's campus. There is much to admire in "Scream 2," as director Wes Craven engineers some genuinely chilling sequences (including a real shocker involving a stage production of "Oedipus Rex") and Williamson brings back --and develops the character of-- Deputy Dewey (played by the adorably loopy David Arquette), who ends up becoming infatuated with Gale, almost against his will. Gale, who now introduces herself as "Gale Weathers, author of "The Woodsboro Murders"," just to make sure everyone is aware of her best-selling book, now sports tiger-striped hair and a brazenly amoral attitude. "You need to check your conscience at the door, sweetie: We're not here to be loved," she snarls when her new cameraman objects to her underhanded journalistic tactics. Campbell's put-upon Sidney doesn't take on many new colors, despite her snagging of a new boyfriend (Jerry O'Connell) and a vivacious roommate (Elise Neal) who's certain Sidney's problems will disappear once she joins the Delta Lambda crowd. Hopefully, the inevitable "Scream 3" will find Sidney's character moving beyond the cowering victim she is for much of this opus. "Scream 2" falters only in its last third, when the pacing goes slightly slack and the smart finale goes on a bit too long for its own good. But for much of the two hours, Williamson and Craven do a sensational job of alternating screams of horror with roars of hilarity. If "Scream 2" can't claim the novelty value of the original, it can certainly stand as one of the stronger sequels of recent years.
jamessanford@hotmail.com
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