Managing
to buck the usual trend, eloquently expressed by one character as "Sequels
suck!", this one is a bit of an improvement, since it largely lays off the
grindingly obvious, self-referential cliches. The problem with the first
was that at times it was less parody than straightforward bad film-making:
explicitly stated cliches are still just as tedious. Despite the occasional
Grand Guignol set-pieces, '2' is as much whodunnit as horror, Campbell once again hunting a psycho
(or psychos), though looking more like Phoebe Cates this time -- or maybe
it's just me. It's a pity you always have a pretty good idea who's going to
live and die, and it's not necessarily who you want. Still, anyone who
describes Showgirls as their "favourite scary movie" deserves a rapid,
unpleasant death for being such a smart-arse. As with the original, the
stalk-n-slash elements work well; Craven has enough experience there to do
them in his sleep -- and perhaps he did here? The end result is a film no
more memorable than its predecessor, but which is at least much less
annoying.
C