Scream 2 picks up two years after the original film left off. The setting is Windsor College, "a picturesque haven of higher learning." Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is winding down her freshman year. She has a great group of friends, a devoted boyfriend, and the lead in the school play. But Sid's world will be turned upside down once again by the unleashing of a new copycat killer on campus, immediately following the release Stab, a film based on the harrowing Woodsboro killings (the basis of Scream). The new rash of killings bring some of the original cast back into Sidney's world, including sleazy tabloid reporter and opportunist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and ex-officer Dewey Riley (David Arquette), whose sister was killed by the Scream lunatic, and whose heart was once broken by Weathers. Interestingly, Arquette's character almost didn't make it into the sequel. If you recall, he was nearly left for dead at the end of Scream; at the last minute Craven opted for one final shot of him still alive. While Dewey walks with a limp and no longer wears a badge, he very much comes to Sidney's rescue once the terror begins.
The filming of Scream 2 began just six months after the original film opened. The production spent its first 16 days on location at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, outside Atlanta, then moved west for 36 days of filming at locations throughout the Los Angeles area.
Screenwriter Kevin Williamson had already written a treatment for the sequel before Scream was ever sold. Says Williamson, "I realized the story was not over yet." The theme of the sequel recurs throughout Scream 2, just as the nature of the horror genre permeated the original film. In a film class scene, Scream original Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), who follows his good friend Sidney to Windsor where he is a film student, debates the nature of sequels. The class launches into a discussion about the value of film sequels, and cites classics like Godfather II and Aliens.
Like the original film, Scream 2 is sprinkled with pop culture references and timely humour. Also like the original, the sequel's killer is a most unlikely suspect; the filmakers went to great lengths to keep the killer's identity a secret, even from the cast and crew, up until the very end of shooting says Courteney Cox, "It's really twisted. You'll never figure it out. I sure didn't!"
The Scream veterans (Campbell, Cox, Arquette, and Kennedy) meshed well with the cast's new additions. Explains Campbell, "It's a strong ensemble. That's what was so great about the first film. Everyone really clicked and worked well together, and it's happened again." New additions to the cast include Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar, former Noxzema girl Rebecca Gayheart, Jada Pinkett, and Omar Epps. Learn more about some of the actors, old and new, and about horror master Wes Craven himself.
Craven says that music "is hugely important for any film...it really sets the tone of key moments." Capitol Records has compiled an impressive soundtrack for the film featuring a range of artists, from Dave Matthews Band to Foo Fighters to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
