Line #44 YMMV/Scream2


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** [[spoiler:Cotton Weary.]] Was rescuing Sidney from Ghostface solely dependent on the Diane Sawyer interview? Was he actually going to let Ghostface kill her if she didn’t agree or was that just a snarky remark? The DVD commentary even acknowledged that [[spoiler:Cotton]] was pretty much the WildCard in the climax.
3	** Gale's blasé attitude to the first two murders quickly gives way to worry after Cici's. Did playing the role of the reporter allow her to detach herself from the reality of what she had previously experienced, and it became impossible to ignore once it was clear they had a copycat? Or did Cici's death bring about her realization because she was actually at the scene of the crime personally?
4	** While [[spoiler: Mrs Loomis's]] taking up the Ghostface mantle is said to be [[spoiler: revenge on Sidney for killing her son, Sidney does note that she abandoned him when she discovered her husband's infidelity, and the woman looks momentarily guilty. Does she indeed feel guilty for leaving her son, and leading to him being killed, and is her following in his footsteps her way of trying to atone for that?]]
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Some fans find Lois and Murphy annoying and irrelevant, while others consider them decently comedic characters with a nice touch of RedHerring.
6	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Derek's song and dance in the cafeteria ticks all the boxes: it's extremely out of nowhere, tonally inconsistent (as a big goofy song/dance in a college cafeteria during a slasher movie), and it has only tangential impact on the story. It's just a way for Derek to give his Greek letters to Sid, which he presumably could have done in a simpler, less jarring way. The best justification is that it can be seen as confirmation of his innocence and not being like Billy, and as a romantic gesture that makes [[spoiler: his death and Mickey turning out to be Ghostface (given how he was encouraging Derek and clapping along to the song) more impactful.]]
7	* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler:Both Mrs. Loomis and Mickey's deaths.]]
8	* ContestedSequel: For some, this is an EvenBetterSequel, while others feel it suffers from {{Sequelitis}}. Notably, the critic score on Rotten Tomatoes is 82% (beating the originals' 79%), but the audience score is a divisive 57%.
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
10	** Cici Cooper for being a NiceGirl who has some fun interactions with Randy and Mickey and an excellent [[spoiler:chase/death]] scene. Being played by the beloved Creator/SarahMichelleGellar certainly helps, and it's not hard to find people who wish she'd been around for more than just [[spoiler:two scenes.]]
11	** Joel is well-liked for having a boatload of funny lines and being [[GenreSavvy smart enough]] to get the hell out of dodge when things start to get ''real'' serious.
12	* EsotericHappyEnding: WebVideo/CinemaSins rightfully [[https://youtu.be/rfMJ-DylWBs?t=1109 points out]] that the "happy ending" of Sidney surviving yet again and walking off across campus to a peppy song on the soundtrack is tarnished by the fact everyone she was friends with in the first and second films are all ''dead'', plus all the people that died by proxy simply for being associated with her or even in just the same general vicinity. She's all alone. The only people she has left in her life are [[spoiler: Dewey, Gale, and Cotton,]] of whom only the first can be considered an actual friend. That said, ''Film/Scream3'' reveals Sidney [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome has become a paranoid recluse]] thanks to all the trauma, acknowledging the hollow victory of ''Scream 2'''s ending. It's not until the fourth film that she's properly begun healing.
13	* EvenBetterSequel: Some fans and critics consider this film even better than the first. Retrospective reviews have praised the film for having [[https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/scream-2-anniversary-best-sequel-ever sharper writing]], [[https://www.slashfilm.com/1081024/why-scream-2-is-actually-the-best-movie-in-the-franchise/ more developed characters]], and [[https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1245101-all-scream-movies-ranked-scream-6 more style and suspense]] than the first film.
14	* FandomRivalry: An inter-franchise rivalry with fans of ''Film/Scream4'' over which sequel is better. Both sides tend to [[FriendlyFandoms agree]] that both films are superior to ''Film/Scream3'', though.
15	* {{Fanon}}: One of the unnamed students in the film class scene is played by Creator/JoshuaJackson. After ''Film/Scream2022'' featured archive footage of an episode of ''Series/DawsonsCreek'', in which Jackson appears, fans began joking that this character wasn't just played by Joshua Jackson, he actually ''was'' Joshua Jackson, who would go on to have more or less the same career as he did in real life.
16	* FranchiseOriginalSin: Pulled off twice:
17	** [[spoiler: This movie has the killer have a secret relationship to a previous character that is the source of their motivation, with Debbie Salt actually being Mrs. Loomis. In this movie, it is foreshadowed that Debbie Salt already at least knows the main cast and that the killer is Billy Loomis' mother. The viewers just don't connect the two till after TheReveal. Plus, the previous movie established the existence of Billy's mother. [[{{Film/Scream 3}} Scream 3]] would try this with Roman Bridger with far less success as almost the entire explanation of his backstory would be relegated to the third movie. The most connection we would end up receiving was an explanation for Maureen Prescott's promiscuous behavior, which had been established in the first movie.]]
18	** [[spoiler: It is explained that Mrs. Loomis went through a lot of trouble keeping her true identity disguised. The first movie heavily implies she had not been heard from since leaving Billy, making it plausible that the media never knew what she looked like aside from pictures from before the killings. While in her disguise as Debbie Salt, she takes precautions to not run into anyone who could identify her unless she was dressed as Ghostface. When she is revealed as Ghostface, both Sidney and Gale express shock that it is her, pointing out she lost a considerable amount of weight and had cosmetic surgery which is why she blended in so well. ''Film/ScreamVI'' never explains how nobody already knew the established characters were related to Richie despite the fact Gale heavily investigated the case for her book. Adding onto this is that in The New '20s, it's flat-out inconceivable the identity of Richie's family, especially his father, would be unknown to the public with how mainstream social media has become unless Richie had changed his last name and erased anything that could link him back to his family should he get caught.]]
19	* FriendlyFandoms: With fans of ''Film/Scream4''. They argue over which film is better, but they generally agree that both films are superior to ''Film/Scream3''.
20	* GeniusBonus:
21	** [[spoiler:The reveal that Billy's mother is the killer was a nod to Mrs. Voorhees in the original ''Friday the 13th''. Laurie Metcalf, who plays Mrs. Loomis, is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'', where her mother was played by Estelle Parsons. Parsons was the original choice to play Mrs. Voorhees before she dropped out and was replaced by Betsy Palmer.]]
22	** The clip from ''Stab'' with Sidney (Creator/ToriSpelling) and Billy (Creator/LukeWilson) talking in the halls in which the {{foreshadowing}} of Billy's motivation being Sidney's mother having an affair with his father and thus causing his mother to leave -- while claiming he accepted it -- is present. [[spoiler:It doubles as foreshadowing that his mother is the killer this time around too!]]
23	* HamAndCheese: [[spoiler:Creator/LaurieMetcalf and Creator/TimothyOlyphant bring the ham that is needed when revealing themselves as Ghostface]].
24	* HarsherInHindsight:
25	** The opening sequence can be uncomfortable to watch after the July 20, 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado that killed twelve people and wounded dozens more. Just like in the film, the audience first thought it was AllPartOfTheShow.
26	** The character Cici is [[spoiler:killed by being tossed off a balcony. This would not be the last [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer time we saw a Sarah Michelle Gellar character die]] by [[Film/TheGrudge2 falling from a great height]].]]
27	** Derek being strung up by his fraternity brothers is just portrayed as WackyFratboyHijinx in the movie proper. But after the revelation come the late 00s of how a lot of fraternity and sorority "hazing rituals" are really more like low-grade ''torture'' and how several pledges have ''died'' partaking in them, it casts a much more gruesome pall over this incident. A closer look at the symbols and letters on Derek makes it seem more like his frat brothers didn't just write on him in red marker but perhaps even ''cut them into his skin'' with a knife.
28	** In his monologue, [[spoiler:Mickey]] claims that he can get away with murder just by [[MurderSimulators blaming the movies]] at his trial, a plan that both Sidney and [[spoiler:Mickey's partner, [[EvilHasStandards Mrs. Loomis]],]] dismiss as a bunch of nonsense. Years later, certain defendants would successfully use a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_defense similar defense]] by blaming ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' [[Franchise/TheMatrix movies]] for their crimes.
29	* HilariousInHindsight:
30	** The character played by Creator/SarahMichelleGellar has a sorority sister named Dawnie. Flash forward several years later, and [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer another Dawnie appears in Sarah's life]].
31	** Creator/TimothyOlyphant and Creator/LaurieMetcalf, [[spoiler:who both play the BigBadDuumvirate of this film]], would each later appear in an Academy Award-winning computer-animated film that features fellow actor Ned Beatty as the BigBad (Metcalf voice-acted in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' in 2010, while a year later in 2011, Olyphant voice-acted in a cameo appearance as a Creator/ClintEastwood {{Expy}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}''). The two are also reunited in the film ''Film/StopLoss'', though they don't share any scenes together, where Laurie is again [[spoiler: grieving for her dead son]]. Also, both Olyphant and Metcalf would later play an antagonist [[spoiler:just like their characters here]] for the protagonist played by Creator/BruceWillis, with Olyphant in ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' (which notably featured music by Marco Beltrami, who also did music for this film) and Metcalf in the stage adaptation of ''Literature/{{Misery}}''.
32	** Mickey and Randy, along with the film class, having a debate about whether or not sequels are any good, with Randy believing in {{Sequelitis}} and Mickey eventually trumping him with ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''. Years after ''Scream 2'', which didn't fall to Sequelitis, a glut of sequels to anything and everything were made by Hollywood, with a handful of them not falling to Sequelitis, and some, such as ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 and 3]]'' (which the latter two featured Laurie Metcalf, who played Debbie Salt in this film), are widely considered superior to the first. During the same debate, ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' is mentioned, which is coincidental as Mickey's actor Creator/TimothyOlyphant would join the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' Creator/{{FX\|Networks}} on Creator/{{Hulu}} series.
33	** It is revealed that Ghostface recorded the victims on camera before killing them. In ''Film/Scream4'', this concept is revisited by the new Ghostface, who records the murders of the victims and uploads the videos to the Internet to take advantage of the now popular [[FoundFootageFilms found footage genre]]. Sounds like [[spoiler:Mickey and Mrs. Loomis]] were ahead of their time.
34	** During the MotiveRant [[spoiler: Mrs. Loomis insists "I was a ''good'' mother!" Laurie Metcalf's most remembered role of the 2010s is ''Film/LadyBird'' playing an abusive mother the narrative frames as simply being complicated, for which Metcalf was nominated for an Academy Award. This notably and retroactively makes Mrs. Loomis the only Ghostface to be played by an Oscar nominee.]]
35	** Another one from the MotiveRant. [[spoiler:Mickey]] plans on [[MurderSimulators blaming violent movies for making him a killer]], not because it's true but because he wants to guarantee [[IfItBleedsItLeads a sensational trial]] and FameThroughInfamy. In ''Series/ScreamResurrection'', [[spoiler:the killer Beth actually ''does'', in all seriousness, say that her love of violent horror movies molded her into a sociopath]].
36	** In an early script, [[spoiler:Hallie]] was supposed to be the killer as a commentary on the horror genre's [[MonochromeCasting lack of racial diversity]]. ''Series/ScreamResurrection'', a television spin-off, would finally feature [[spoiler:a black character played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyga Tyga]]]] as Ghostface.
37	** Considering Creator/LievSchreiber's later {{typecasting}} as villains and psychos, it's hilarious that [[spoiler: Cotton Weary is suspected of being the killer but ends up saving the day. And original plans had him becoming a killer!]]
38	** This would not be only time Laurie Metcalf [[spoiler:would play a psychopath, as in 2015, a stage adaptation of ''Literature/{{Misery}}'', starring Metcalf as [[LoonyFan Annie Wilkes]], premiered on Broadway, closing in early 2016.]]
39	** Creator/MarisolNichols had a minor role in this film as a sorority sister named Dawnie. She would later go on to star in ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' alongside ''Scream'' alumnus Skeet Ulrich. And just like in Scream, ''Riverdale'' also had stories revolving around masked serial killers.
40	** The character Dawnie only has one scene with Cici (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Three years later, ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' [[CosmicRetcon introduced]] a character named Dawn who was the titular character's sister.
41	** Creator/TimothyOlyphant's character is called "the freaky Tarantino film student" by Randy. Olyphant would later be directed by Creator/QuentinTarantino himself in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', twenty-two years after the release of this film.
42	** This would not be the [[WesternAnimation/MissingLink only time]] Creator/TimothyOlyphant would play a [[spoiler:[[EvilIsHammy hammy]], AxCrazy, LaughablyEvil PsychoForHire who is also TheDragon, [[DragonTheirFeet who even manages to briefly outlive his boss at the climax before dying too shortly afterwards]]]], except this time it's for a kids-and-family audience, rather than the horror film adult audience that this sequel is directed at.
43	** [[spoiler:Creator/RebeccaGayheart's role as a RedHerring college student]] in this movie is much funnier after ''Film/UrbanLegend'' made [[spoiler:Gayheart's college character the actual killer]].
44	* InformedWrongness: Dewey gives Gale a hard time for being at the scene of Cici's murder, when she's a reporter whose job is to be there, and she's far from the only reporter there. She has more of a reason to be there than he does, considering he's a cop in another town.
45	* LoveToHate: [[spoiler:Mickey]]. He may be TheDragon, but like the previous one he's also LaughablyEvil.
46	* MemeticPsychopath: It is often joked that [[spoiler:sorority girls Lois and Murphy]] should have been the killers.
47	* MoralEventHorizon: If his killings weren’t bad enough, [[spoiler:Mickey]] leaps over the line by [[spoiler:making Sidney doubt Derek, then killing him in front of her.]]
48	* {{Narm}}:
49	** David Arquette's performance includes him making a lot of weird wide-eyed expressions and delivering his lines like a cartoon mad scientist. He also gives Dewey a limp that's meant to represent the nerve damage he suffered in the first film, but just looks ridiculous, especially when he's running after Ghostface.
50	** Creator/JadaPinkett's... operatic death in the opening. Hilariously spoofed in the first ''Film/ScaryMovie''.
51	* NarmCharm:
52	** Her death cry though, along with Ghostface’s ominous {{Leitmotif}} after the final stab, are just so chillingly awesome that they save the scene.
53	** The scene from Sidney's dress rehearsal for ''Cassandra'' is a bit too out there for the movie's tone, but it's still pretty creepy and effective.
54	* OneSceneWonder:
55	** Creator/LukeWilson in the FilmWithinAFilm playing Billy. His impression of Creator/SkeetUlrich is magnificent.
56	** Maureen Evans, due to being a DeadpanSnarker, and one of the few characters not to be a fan of the ''Stab'' movies.
57	** CoolTeacher Gus Gold, who oversees the memorable ''Cassandra'' dress rehearsal and encourages Sidney not to let fear dominate her while making a good joke in the process. Being played by the perennially awesome Creator/DavidWarner helps.
58	** During the film class, the teacher, ThoseTwoGuys who debate with Randy about {{Sequelitis}}, and (to a lesser extent) the girl who knew Maureen and is depressed about her death are all unnamed and only appear in that one scene, but they're pretty well-acted and particularly memorable characters.
59	* RetroactiveRecognition:
60	** Creator/PortiaDeRossi has one of her first appearances here. She would get her breakout role on ''Series/AllyMcBeal'' just one year later, and become more famous for being married to Creator/EllenDeGeneres.
61	** Dawnie, the sorority sister who leaves Cici alone with the killer, is played by Creator/MarisolNichols; who would later be better known for ''Series/TwentyFour'' and playing Hermione Lodge in ''{{Series/Riverdale}}''.
62	** Creator/OmarEpps as the first victim would later be best known for ''{{Series/House}}''.
63	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The killer's MotiveRant satirizes the era's MoralGuardians and the controversy over violence in the media, which was already brewing at the time even before the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} massacre, and name-drops Bob Dole, the Christian Coalition, and various members of UsefulNotes/OJSimpson's legal team, such that even [[spoiler:the other killer, Mrs. Loomis,]] explicitly refers to this motive as a product of the '90s.
64	* TheWoobie:
65	** Maureen and Phil, especially Maureen. They're just two innocent college students trying to watch a film in the theater and Ghostface brutally kills them both. In Maureen's case, [[TraumaCongaLine she gets attacked while believing her boyfriend is behind the mask, then tries to ask for help, but the entire crowd of moviegoers wrongly assume that it's all a publicity stunt]] ''[[TraumaCongaline ''and cheer as she's bleeding to death.]]'' As if it's not enough, the only reason Ghostface attacked them is ''their names'' -- Maureen has the same name as Maureen Prescott, and Phil's surname is Stevens (one of Ghostface's past victims was Steven "Steve" Orth).
66	** Cici Cooper is likewise targeted simply for having the same name as a previous Woodsboro victim, and she's a NiceGirl implied to have a BastardBoyfriend. Ghostface slowly tortures her over the phone the same way he did to Casey, and she gets left alone in the house while being on call just in case one of her sisters needs a ride home. She gets numerous {{Hope Spot}}s [[spoiler: but is killed anyway]]. Sidney even says "that poor girl".
67	** Derek. He's desperately trying to be a loving boyfriend yet Sidney keeps pushing him away due to her trauma from Billy's betrayal. [[spoiler: This doubt ultimately gets him killed, spending his final moments assuring her that he really loved her and never would have hurt her.]]

Context YMMV / Scream2