Scream 2 is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy and Liev Schreiber. Dimension Films released it on December 12, 1997, as the second installment in the Scream film series. Scream 2 takes place two years after Scream and again follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), now a student at the fictional Windsor College, who becomes the target of a copycat killer using the guise of Ghostface. Sidney is accompanied by film-geek Randy Meeks (Kennedy), retired deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette) and news reporter Gale Weathers (Cox). Like its predecessor, Scream 2 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of comedy and "whodunit" mystery while satirizing the cliché of film sequels. The film was followed by two sequels, Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011).