MovieChat Forums > Scream 2 (1997) Discussion > Worst movie in the series ?

Worst movie in the series ?

posted 7 years ago by cookiedoughboy
28 replies | jump to latest

I have been a Scream fan since seeing the original in theaters back in '96. Yes, I am that old... 👴 I saw the second with great anticipation and was very happy with it. It had a more grown-up feel to it while still being laden with humor and solid quips.

Over the years, I've read people's ratings, reviews, commentary, etc., that Scream 2 was the worst movie of the four, and I always wondered why. IMHO, Scream 2 is a masterpiece when compared to #3. So, I was wondering what other people thought of #2, and the rest of the series actually; why you liked/hated each movie...

I'll start (in order, in my opinion, of good to not-so-good):

Scream 1 - A great send-up of horror movies, a fun cast of famous & not-so-famous actors, the opening sequence and the shock of a A-list celeb dying in said sequence, a truly believable motive, and a great who-dun-it. Himbry's death still bothers me from a "what was the point?" angle, and Sidney’s attack in the restroom felt unrealistic from a “just how did the killer know she would show up there”, but the rest was pretty solid.

Scream 4 - Like H20, it was great to see our main "victim" Sidney, plus Gale & Dewey, return. The reveal & denouement was second only to the first movie, and the motive was a superb commentary on today's culture of fame & notoriety. The opening sequence was expected but still different & "fun", Gale's encounter with hayloft Ghostface, Hayden Panettiere's Kirby was a fun character to watch, and Hicks was a great tension breaker. The kills weren't necessarily "bigger" but they provided exactly the kind of presence they needed for the film.

Scream 2 - That opening sequence was fantastic and almost gut-wrenching at the same time. Poor Jada  and her bulging neck muscles! The car escape sequence was tense, a killer reveal that actually surprised me and made sense in an odd way: "You killed my son. And I now I kill you and I can't think of anything more rational.", and of course shirtless Jerry O'Connell.  But a couple of unrealistic kills (Randy's & Hallie's), so many things overlapping/happening at once, Cici being killed within eyesight of another sorority but NOBODY sees or hears a thing?, the obvious sticker placed on the caller ID device when the "killer" calls Sidney the first time (I don't know why that irks me, but it does...), Sidney's "just-so-happens-to-show-up-at- the-theater-at-the-right-time-for-the-showdown-while-her-boyfriend-is-tied-up-by-his-frat-brothers-in-order-to-produce-tension-and-the-"boyfriend/killer"-"boyfriend/killer"-Billy-Loomis-let's-screw-with-Sidney's-mind" moment.

Scream 3 - The voice changer was an interesting gimmick, and the final showdown in the 1970's, plush velvet party room wasn't bad. But I thought this had the most predictable killer (especially after their dead body was found with NO killer sequence leading up to it), one of the most over-used killer motives in the movies, the house explosion was just way too unrealistic (NObody smelled the gas it would've taken to fill the house up to explode that way?!), the obvious tropes of a character's backstory just popping up, the ridiculous Martha Meeks "I have something to show you; so glad we just happened to bump into each other on a crowded backlot with no explanation as to why I'm here" scene in order to watch a video tape sequence that felt SO out of place in the movie, Dewey just happening to shoot out the mirrors in the wrong sequence and then Ghostface just vanishing a half-second later, without getting shot. Parker Posey was fun to watch, but as for the rest I just couldn't tell if 3 wanted to be a horror, mystery, or comedy film. A movie that was definitely handled as best it could by Wes Craven with such a suck-tacular script written by Ehren Kruger.

[–] RockyBalboaV 7 years ago

Honestly that's my order. 1423. But 4 and 2 are so close... some days I feel like 2 is better. 3 is the worst but I still enjoy it

[–] FireWave 7 years ago

Scream 4 is the weakest link for me. It is Scream but not actually Scream. It felt it was fifth wheel when compared to the original trilogy.

[–] InTheHub 7 years ago

Agreed 4 is the worst for me...The magic just wasn't there.

But being a big fan of Scream 3...it is widely considered the worst of the 4 by many.

"See it with someone you love...Go by yourself"

[–] FireWave 7 years ago

I am also big fan of the 3rd part. I love it. 😃

[–] Crazygreen1127 7 years ago

Imo, part 2 is actually the best of the series. Even more than the first. The jokes and script are fresher, the body count is higher, and it's just as scary as the 1st. Plus, this one had a much better ensemble, IMO.

Plus, I feel it aged better than the others.

[–] tylrwillis3 7 years ago

Scream 3 is the worst. 1 is the best. 2 and 4 are tied

[–] xfastfurious15 7 years ago

Mine in order of best to worst is:
Scream 1
Scream 2
Scream 3
Scream 4

Coincidentally, that was the order they came out in. Scream 3 has such memorable death scenes that I find it unbelievable how people hate it. Scream 2 had such great tension, even when I rematch the scene where Gayle and the killer are in the move theater room and Gayle has to keep moving to the other side of the wall to still makes me tense up. Scream 4 cinematography wise just had weird look to it. The writing was subpar, the dialogue sucked. And it was way too meta. It seemed like every character knew they were in a scary movie but could care less.

I bet you're wondering what a place like this is doing in a girl like me-The Mummy

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

What was memorable about any of the deaths in Scream 3? I thought they were very tame and weak sauce except for the house explosion but that was it. Cotton's death was nothing special and anti climatic, Sarah's death was forgettable(one stab... that was it), the two other girl's deaths were way too PG-13 for me and there was nothing hardcore or violent about them, Tyson's was just ok but it's too much like Cici's plunge off the balcony only less violent this time, the only one's that were kinda cool were with that guy getting blown up and John Milton's throat slit but how many times have we seen stuff like that in slasher films or giallos? IDK Scream 3 was just lame stuff and it really hurt the film, it was nothing like the first 2.

[–] Drooch (5333) 3 years ago

Part 2 is certainly not the best, it can’t be ‘fresher’ than the original film by defintion, the body count is lower and the ensemble, though decent, is weaker - Sydney’s token black BFF is much less memorable than Tatum, and Mickey & Mrs Loomis are no match for the legendary Billy & Stu.

So your judgement is wrong on just about every aspect.

[–] IrinaOma 7 years ago

People usually hate Scream 3 the most. Well, I love Scream & Scream 3. Then comes Scream 2 and only then - Scream 4

[–] ukmale-93122 7 years ago

Part 3 was by far the worst

My order is 1, 2, 4, 3

[–] ShallowAl69 7 years ago

Rewatching the Scream films again.

And I have to post this.

The 'acting' from the god awful extras.

Is dire.

For me.

Scream 3
Scream
Scream 2
Scream 4

Specifically the party in part 1 - the extras are abominable.

The film class scene - the acting is horrific - and not in a good way.

Also the opening theater murder, the background extras - atrocious.

[–] moolanguap 7 years ago

Not adding a ton to the conversation, but I've always liked them in the order they've come out. 1234, most to least. I used to have something against 4, but I've warmed up to it in recent viewings. I believe each one is superior to the one that comes after.

[–] bangel144 7 years ago

The original is clearly the best. Followed by a close tie between 2 and 4. 3 is much farther down in terms of quality and murder mayhem.

[–] Gobiastia 7 years ago

I maintain Scream 3 is the worst. The movie plays like a Scooby Doo episode, and Sidney being tucked away in her isolated home in the mountains away from the main story for half the movie doesn't help.

I find Gale and Dewey very immature and childish in 3. Gale looks terrible, too. The cast of Stab actors are all terribly annoying characters. The killer reveal and motive was terrible. Like a bad soap opera twist.

I rank the movies as follows;

Scream 2
Scream
Scream 4
Scream 3

[–] Stratego 7 years ago

Hey, nice to see you on the Scream board again, Gobiastia!

[–] Gobiastia 7 years ago

Thank you. Good to see you again, too. It's a shame the boards will be closed down soon though.

[–] Stratego 7 years ago

It definitely is. I checked out the boards multiple times a week, I'm gonna miss them.

[–] billbrown7071 (3193) 7 years ago

I'm a Scream Fan.

I remember seeing both Scream 2 and 3 in theaters when I was a kid(I had to sneak in)...for me it was the first movie/series that made you look forward to the movie to see who the killer was.

Scream 2 is by far my favorite movie in the series, But Scream 1 is IMO by far the best movie in the series...

Scream 3 is also IMO by far the worst movie in the series.

Scream 2 is my favorite though I watch it more than the rest, I really like that the movie takes place on a college campus.

I also like Scream 4(biggest problem with the movie though was Gale literally had one of the worst written parts in a movie ever The writers clearly had no clue what do to do with her).

When I rank movies, I have to rank them in 2 list..."My favorite" which simply means the movies I will watch and rewatch most...and then "IMO The best overall movies" which means, which movies I think are the best overall movies, even if I dont like watching them that much...sometime there are movies that are just fun to watch and you love them but they just aren't great movies, then sometime there are movies that are absolute fantastic but you dont like watching very much.

Here are my rankings

My Favorite movies in the Scream franchise are-
Scream 2
Scream 4
Scream
Scream 3

IMO The Best movies in the scream Franchise are-
Scream-8.5/10
Scream 2-8/10
Scream 4-7.5/10
Scream 3-6/10

[–] Stratego (29173) 5 years ago

My problem with Scream 2 is that its flaws become more evident on every subsequent viewing. The continuity is a mess, especially in the finale. And the killers have to rely on way too many concidences. I still love the movie, though!

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

What continuity problems are you talking about?

[–] Stratego (29173) 4 years ago

The timeline. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

[–] Washingtonnative (2613) 6 years ago

My vote for the worst "Scream" is the 4th one.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Im watching it now. It's really bad. For me, the series begins and ends with Scream. 3 was epic failure and 4 was pointless. 2 is an okay sequel, but it's not a good movie.

1. I don't get the obsession over Sarah Michelle Gellar. She's never been interesting to me in any project. Sorry buffy fans.
2. The frat people are seriously awful
3. The Derek Sidney love story was ruined by Nev Campbell's wooden romance acting
4. The dialogue only works for Randy.
5. The final showdown is lame. Anyone who works or worked in a theater can tell you thap props are terrible for fleeing killers or fighting against them.
6. Sydney's theater scene is exceptionally cringeworthy.
7. The soundtrack is good, but the score sucks.

There's more. I'm surprised that It still dissappoints me after not seeing it since it first came out on video.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I don't agree about the final showdown, probably one of the best in the series. Part 3's finale was much worse. People liked Buffy because she was hot.... simple as that, what can I tell ya? The love story was ok and it paid off when Derek gets shot.... it shows Sidney is all alone now and it's a good character arc. "dialogue only works for Randy"..... what do you mean by that? I thought the theater scene was cool and kinda creepy. How does the score suck? It's pretty much the same as the first one, also they used some temp score from Broken Arrow. Yes the soundtrack was quite good for a 90's movie, I fully agree with that.