All 6 Scream movies, ranked from worst to best
4. Scream 2
Scream 2 is not one of those rare occurrences where the sequel is better than the original, but it’s definitely a worthy follow-up to one of the best slasher movies ever made. And that in itself is a big feat.
The second movie in the franchise came out in 1997 and takes place two years after the original, following Sidney living at college in Ohio. She’s got a new boyfriend named Derek (Jerry O’Connell) and a group of new classmates to hang out with, including familiar face Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) from Woodsboro. Again, the cast is star-studded in Scream 2, with the main stars returning and famous actors like Timothy Olyphant, Laurie Metcalf, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jada Pinkett appearing in new roles.
Like the original, Scream 2 does a great job poking fun at the horror genre and is extremely self-aware, with one of the most memorable scenes coming during Randy’s film class where the students debate whether or not sequels are ever actually good. The second movie also introduces the Stab franchise, the fictional movie series based on the Woodsboro murders.
Scream 2 gives us one of the best opening scenes in the series: Jada Pinkett and Omar Epps’ characters go to the movies to watch Stab; sadly, their date ends in murder, and with everyone in the audience donning Ghostface masks and costumes, they think it’s all staged. Scream 2 presents the all-too-real phenomenon of people glamorizing and even emulating serial killers, which leads to the first copycat killers of the franchise.
The most iconic scene of the original Scream movie is the big Ghostface reveal, which is when we find out that Sidney’s boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and their friend Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) are the killers. Each installment in the series afterward follows this format, with the Ghostface reveal inevitably being the biggest part of the story. In Scream 2, we find out that pseudo-journalist Debbie Salt (Metcalf) is actually Nancy Loomis, Billy’s mom, who’s out for revenge for her son’s death. She enlisted Mickey (Olyphant) to carry out her plan, with the two of them working together as the new killers.
Of course, Sidney makes it out alive in Scream 2 and returns for multiple sequels, with Mrs. Loomis and Mickey both dying in the end.
There’s a bit of a lull about midway through Scream 2 and a few unnecessary scenes that bog down the story (I’m not a fan of the “I Think I Love You” performance, sorry!), but overall it’s a solid movie, and a pretty great sequel.