Scream 2 is an slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O’Connell, Elise Neal, Timothy Olyphant, Jada Pinkett, and Liev Schreiber. A sequel to Scream (1996), the film was released on December 12, 1997, by Dimension Films, as the second installment in the Scream film series. Scream 2 takes place two years after the first film and again follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), and other survivors of the Woodsboro massacre, at the fictional Windsor College in Ohio, where they are targeted by a copycat killer using the guise of Ghostface. Like its predecessor, Scream 2 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of comedy, satire and “whodunit” mystery while satirizing the cliché of film sequels.
Williamson provided a five-page outline for a sequel to Scream when auctioning his original script, hoping to entice bidders with the potential of buying a franchise. Following a successful test screening of Scream and the film’s financial and critical success, Dimension moved forward with the sequel while Scream was still in theaters, with the principal cast all returning to star, Craven to direct and Beltrami to provide music. The film faced controversy following its significant issues with plot information leaking onto the Internet, revealing the identity of the killers. Combined with the film’s rushed schedule, the script was rewritten often; pages were sometimes completed on the day of filming.
Despite these issues, Scream 2 earned $172 million at the box office, only $683,362 less than Scream, and received positive reviews from critics, with some arguing that it surpassed the original in quality. Beltrami received positive critical reception for his score for evolving the musical themes of the characters created in Scream, although some critics claimed that the most memorable pieces from the film were created by composers Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. Elfman‘s contribution had been specially written for the film, but Zimmer‘s score for Broken Arrow (1996) was controversially used in the film, replacing Beltrami‘s own work. The film’s soundtrack achieved moderate sales success, reaching number 50 on the Billboard 200. It was followed by several additional sequels, starting with Scream 3 (2000).
The music to the 1997 slasher film Scream 2, the second instalment in the Scream franchise and a sequel to Scream (1996) featured an original soundtrack album consists of 15 songs by various artists from the R&B, rap and rock genres; excluding two (One More Chance and The Race) only 13 of them appear in the film. Released as Scream 2: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture by Capitol Records on November 18, 1997, the soundtrack achieved commercial success, charting at number 50 on the Billboard 200 charts, and spent there for over ten weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA, signifying that the album achieved sales in excess of 500,000 units.
Scream 2 is scored by Marco Beltrami, who also composed the predecessor, although Danny Elfman would write a choral piece titled “Cassandra Aria” which would be reprised as the finale track of the album. Excerpts from Hans Zimmer‘s score for the 1996 film Broken Arrow, in particular guitar work by Duane Eddy, for the character Dewey Riley, replaced the original themes that have developed for the character. Beltrami would explain in an interview that Zimmer‘s piece was used as a placeholder for his incomplete score during the test screening, but as the test audience were more receptive to it, the studio influenced to keep Zimmer‘s piece, reducing his composition “Dewey’s Theme” to minor use during more serious scenes involving the character.
The score also influenced several other composers work such as Elliot Goldenthal, Ennio Morricone and Christopher Young. Initially, the score was released along with its predecessor in a dual album in July 1998, and a complete score was released in a limited edition format in October 2016.
Tracklist:
- Scream (Master P Silkk The Shocker)
- Suburban Life (Kottonmouth Kings)
- Rivers (Sugar Ray)
- She’s Always in My Hair (D’Angelo)
- Help Myself (Dave Matthews Band)
- She Said (Collective Soul)
- Right Place, Wrong Time (The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion)
- Dear Lover (Foo Fighters)
- Eyes of Sand (Tonic)
- The Swing (Everclear)
- I Think I Love You (Less Than Jake)
- Your Lucky Day in Hell (Eels)
- Red Right Hand (DJ Spooky Mix) (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
- One More Chance (Kelly)
- The Race (Ear2000)
