Scary Movie 2

The predecessor to this release, Scary Movie, was promoted as "No mercy, No shame, No sequel" yet here we are with Scary Movie 2. The reasoning behind this is quite simply that the makers were offered a stack of cash to produce a follow up to the very successful first film. This time around the promotion is "More merciless, More shameless" and without a doubt less taste. Fans of the first film are in for more of the same, and why not?

As was the case with Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2 targets a vast amount of films in the horror genre. The main ones that attract parody this time around are The Haunting, House On Haunted Hill, Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Hannibal and What Lies Beneath, but the targets don't stop there. Mission Impossible, Charlie's Angels and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also get a decent serve, along with a ton of others.

This time the plot revolves around a group of college students who are selected to stay in a haunted house for the weekend, under the guidance of a rather horny professor, to study the effects of insomnia. Now just in that opening sentence there are storylines from at least three films, so there is no risk of the makers of this film being accused of singling out any one flick. The Professor and his wheelchair-bound assistant have ulterior motives however, as does the resident caretaker. All this makes for a rather scary story, well you would think so anyway. What actually occurs is a lot of fun.

"My pussy's gone crazy!"

The quote above will give you an idea of the type of humour contained in this film. This quote refers to the fight between the lead female and the black cat that looks suspiciously like the one from Sabrina, but the sexual reference is quite blatant for those that may by some chance miss it.

There are many highlights in this film that will guarantee a good laugh. Scenes of note are the exorcism, the catfight and the talking parrot, but I am sure each viewer will have their own preference. I must also say that Tori Spelling plays a stalker with disturbing accuracy. Drug references are a constant, as is toilet humour, but these are the standard formula for a teen movie really.

Starring two of the Wayans brothers and directed by a third, this is definitely a family project. Many of the cast from Scary Movie return for this sequel, along with recognisable actors Tim Curry and Christopher Kennedy Masterson (the older brother from Malcolm in the Middle). There is one disappointment with this film however. It all depends on personal taste, but I found that a lot of the deleted scenes shown in the extras would have been better actually left in the film, even replacing some that are already there. This is of course personal choice and I am sure the makers of the film disagree, but now you can be the judge.

If you liked Scary Movie or any number of the teen horror/comedy films recently released then you should get some pleasure from Scary Movie 2. It is extremely silly, but sometimes that can be just the right tonic. The best suggestion is to get some friends over, have a few drinks (of cordial, of course) and have a good laugh. Maybe even do a double header with a serious film, for a bit of balance.

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and 16x9 enhanced, there is little to find fault with in this transfer. Picture is sharp at all times with very good colours throughout. Detail is also very good and there are no problems with aliasing. Blacks are good for the most part, but there is an occasional lack of depth. There are no signs of artefacts and grain is never a problem. Overall, this looks very good indeed. Subtitles supplied are very accurate to what is occuring on screen and they are also useful for finally finding out the lyrics to the Nelly song that plays over the closing credits.

Audio supplied is a choice of English or Italian Dolby Digital 5.1. With my Italian being limited to "ciao" and "pizza" I thought it best to listen to the English. Dialogue is clear at all times, along with the great sound effects used to accompany the visual effects. Separation is generally good, although the rear speakers didn't get too much use, which seemed a shame because when they were used it really added to the scene. I did find the sound level a little low, but this is not a major problem. The subwoofer was reasonably quiet throughout, again a shame but nothing too terrible. Synch is not a problem and although this is not of demonstration quality, it is more than adequate.

Separately, the majority of the bonus material is quite short, but added together they make for a nice package of extras...

Behind the Scenes Featurette
Running for 7:49 and in full frame, this featurette consists of interviews with some of the cast and crew, along with behind the scenes footage about certain scenes. A nice little extra that is very informative, although brief.

Alternate & Deleted Scenes
This nice feature contains many deleted scenes and alternate endings. The option is here to play each one individually or all of them together and they run for 41:42 in total. The majority of them are very funny and could quite easily have been used in the main feature, either as well as or instead of scenes that are already there. Considering the main feature only runs for 78:38, surely time restraints were not really an issue? This is the pick of the extras and a great bonus for viewers.

Still Gallery
Containing a multitude of still photos, presented in a television graphic surround, these pictures were taken during the filming of the movie. This is a good behind the scenes look at production and something viewers should enjoy.

Special Effects Tour with Lou Carlucci
This feature takes us on a tour of how a lot of the special effects were created. The one major annoyance is that you get to see the creation of effects that were not used in the main feature or in the deleted scenes. It makes you wonder how many deleted scenes there were that didn’t even make the deleted scenes category. This feature overall is very good and runs for 5:31.

Here Kitty, Kitty
This is a brief look at how the fight scene with the cat was created. It is fun and runs for a brief 1:44.

Scary Effects
This feature shows how a few of the scary effects were created. This is very informative and runs for 2:01.

Behind the Makeup with Barry Koper
Makeup artist Barry Koper shows how many of the great makeup effects were created for this film. Only running for 4:05, it is still a very informative look behind the scenes at how certain scenes were created.

For fans of Scary Movie, this is a must see film. For those that love a good silly film that parodies many popular films, this is also a must see. For those that enjoy a good plot, dramatic acting and a film that challenges the viewer, look elsewhere. This is not hysterical by any means, but it is a good fun film that should offend everybody at some point, and that is after all what we want from such a film, isn’t it?