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Scream 2 Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

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

  • 4.0
    63

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Generally favorable reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 50

    out of 100

    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

  • 70

    out of 100

    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

  • 75

    out of 100

    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

  • 75

    out of 100

    ReelViews James Berardinelli

    Paradoxically, there's a lot less gore. There is blood, of course, but nothing excessive by slasher-movie standards, and there are no depictions of spilled entrails. Craven has remembered that scares are more important that graphic displays of human insides and bodily fluids.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    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

  • 91

    out of 100

    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

  • See all Scream 2 reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

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

    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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© Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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