Scream 3 Reviews

Not so long ago, I saw the 4th installment of this franchise. I had some rather low expectations but I heard here and there that it was actually pretty good so I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was terribly disappointing and, in my opinion, it was really not worth re-launching this franchise 10 years later. Personally, I really loved the first installment, it is a genuine classic, but all the sequels were disappointing. The point is that the ideas developed in ‘Scream’ were quite intriguing but there was no way it would work with some sequels. The first issue was to let the main cast survive all along. It kills a lot of the momentum. Then, you have the twist(s) which was pretty cool the first time around but those became really predictable and above all really ridiculous. This 3rd installment has the worst reputation but, personally, I think it was actually a slight improvement on the 2nd movie which was, in my opinion, really abysmal. At least, this time, there were some cameos by the awesome Jay and Silent Bob (on the other hand, to have them show how serious the whole thing was). To conclude, even though it wasn’t a total disaster, it remains a rather average horror flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Four years before, we had the terrifying and graphically disturbing first installment in the Scream franchise and then a year later we had a terrifying sequel. However, just at the start of the new millennium and century, we have a third installment in the series where we see old faces return with new stories. Having said that the first two installments are awesome, there was a feeling about the third film that wasn't entirely convincing to come out and fully enjoy. So, therefore it would go a little out of hand, and quite frankly, in a few ways it did.


Scream 3 felt quite lazy due to the fact that now suspenseful situations became very predictable, it would end and begin almost identically to the predecessors and there was clearly going to be a twist, but even that didn't feel like a twist seeing as we knew there was one coming. The most surprising thing about Scream 3 was the fact that at times, it was like a surreal psychological thriller.


Sidney is hibernating in the woods, her whereabouts unbeknownst to everyone but Dewey. After a number of murders that seem to be related to the Woodsboro case take place on the set of Stab 3, Sid comes to Hollywood to be terrorized, find out more about her mother's death, and put together the final pieces of the Scream mystery.


For the third consecutive time, Neve Campbell returns to the role of Sidney Prescott, but this time we see a slightly different person now. We are taken further into not only Sidney's past, but her mother's past before she was murdered which projects visions in Sidney's head and we see it for ourselves. Questions arise about Sidney's sanity and whether all the cases (and maybe even the survived characters are inside her head). This doesn't lead to a villainous side to Sidney, but to a mildly psychologically disturbed Sidney after the events of the two predecessors and in the third installment. Sidney is the exact kind of character who was born cursed so to speak, because everybody who she befriends who gets close to either betrays her or get killed, and all of these killings tell us all a message saying that everything happens in this world for a reason.


Real-life spouses David Arquette and Courtney Cox reprise their roles as Dwight 'Dewey' Riley and Gale Weathers to once again investigate the murders and to unravel the mysterious identity in the ghost mask. Dewey is still a sheriff and a close friend of Sidney's who is still serving the exact same purpose. As for Gale, I cannot get my head round the fact that there has to be an impostor Gale Weathers from the Stab movies featured in the films who just lingers along with the real one hopelessly trying to be her. It just didn't really work and got a bit silly. Despite their identities are being used by somebody else them and never mind Sidney Prescott, Dewey and Gale get themselves into life-threatening situations like Sidney does and they get in harms way, yet they just do not seem to die! As for their performances, it pretty much sums up a typical husband-wife married relationship, even though they aren't always together in this one. It was moaning and complaining all the time and both of them lacked their original heroic status like they earned in the first two.


Wes Craven should know by now as more films in a franchise are released, whether it is massively or only a little bit, the sequels are going to feel weaker. His Nightmare On Elm Street went weak and less terrifying after the first film, and I regret to say that lightning has struck twice, although Scream 2 was a very enjoyable sequel. Craven tends to just make the same continuously and nothing is altered, therefore it gets quite boring. Kevin Williamson is a screenwriter who I admire writing scripts from someone else, and he writes another script in the third installment. However, this time although there were a few interesting segments and a decent twist (even though we all knew there was going to be one anyway) but the film at times felt like it was needlessly continuing, so there could have been at least 10 minutes cut from it.


Overall, Scream 3 as predicted wasn't entirely as impressive or as terrifying to watch as its predecessors, but it really wasn't a bad follow-up and final film in the trilogy.. that is until 2011 with the release of Scream 4. There are still specific places within the film where it could have been much better than it turned out, but it still remains an at least satisfactory third installment in the Scream franchise that is worth a try.

I am not a horror fan, and so this type of meta-horror film is about the only kind i can really get into. It's got just enough suspense, and more sophisticated humor (in my opinion) than traditional horror films, that it is an enjoyable couple hours. But then again, this is directed by the king of horror films, so perhaps i need to give the genre another chance. The film doesn't hesitate to make fun of itself, but not so much that it's pedantic. A good scary time, and makes me want to check out scream 4.

"Trilogies are all about going back to the beginning and discovering something that wasn't true from the get go. Godfather, Jedi, all revealed something that we thought was true that wasn't true."

Released in 1996 and 1997 (respectively), Scream and Scream 2 were notable for their satirisation of horror/slasher clichés and the realm of Hollywood sequels. Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson injected newfound brilliance into the ailing slasher genre, showing that it still had plenty of life (death?) left in it. They say "third time's a charm", but in the case of the Scream movies this cliché proves false - the wily cleverness and witty self-awareness of prior Scream flicks is all but forgotten for this goofy second sequel. What started as a franchise which poked fun at horror films has simply become another unremarkable genre flick. For crying out loud, Scream 3 represents the type of movie that the original Scream poked fun at. Without the writing brilliance of Kevin Williamson - who was replaced by Ehren Kruger - Scream 3 does have its moments, but comes up short in the way of laughs, scares and nail-biting tension.

Several years have elapsed since the bloodbath that occurred in Scream 2, and Sidney Prescott (Campbell) has now moved to a secluded house in the woods in rural California, working from her home as a crisis hotline counsellor under a false name. Not long into the story, Sidney learns that people from her past have been murdered in Hollywood, where Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro is in production on a studio backlot. The Ghostface killer has returned; this time targeting the cast of Stab 3 and leaving behind old pictures of Sidney's mother (who was murdered a year before the first Scream took place) at every crime scene. Feeling she's not safe, Sidney is soon forced out of seclusion, and reunites with the goofy-but-lovable Dewey (Arquette) and reporter Gale Weathers (Cox).

Scream 3 is the undoubtedly the weakest Scream instalment to date, and the justification for this is simple: Kevin Williamson was not attached to the project, and Wes Craven's heart was clearly not in it because he only agreed to direct as a way to get the go ahead on another project. Williamson was sort of involved since he provided notes regarding the storyline, but his absence in the actual writing process is obvious nonetheless. Williamson's scripts had great, thrilling set-pieces, the right mix of drama and humour, and, above all, a satiric tone. Scream 3 comes up short in all of these areas. The ironic dialogue and cute references to other films are threadbare. Laughs are present from time to time, but they are of the "goofy" variety rather than the "witty self-aware fun" variety. Furthermore, the kill sequences are predictable more often than not, the reveal of the killer lacks impact, the finale is way too drawn out, and the film feels sillier than its predecessors. Most importantly, the revelations feel forced rather than earth-shattering.

For the most part, this third Scream picture trots out slasher clichés for no particular satiric purpose. For instance, the killer must be indestructible, invincible, fast, strong, and highly skilled with any known weapon... Until, that is, the killer confronts the heroine at the climax, at which time they must become utterly useless; unable to punch, run, or aim a knife in the right direction. Additionally, if the characters wind up in an old house, it must contain secret passages and hidden rooms in which people become trapped. And if a bunch of characters are being stalked by the killer, they must split up and go in separate directions. If there was some satiric edge to this stuff, it would serve its purpose. But the clichés are used in a bland fashion, making Scream 3 as flavourless as the motion pictures its forerunners ridiculed. There are also a number of logical errors. For instance, a house explodes with the fury of a hydrogen bomb; a blast so huge that it could only have occurred if the entire building was filled with gas...but nobody noticed the smell?

Scream 3 has a few moments of brilliance, but they are not enough to save the movie. One great scene is a beyond-the-grave video lecture by film geek Randy (killed in Scream 2), who informs the characters about the "rules of the trilogy". For instance, he explains that the final part of a trilogy goes back to the beginning. What he fails to mention but proves true in this case, however, is that the third instalment in a trilogy is often the worst... The fact that Randy's video lecture constitutes the best, wittiest, and most energetic scene in the movie is further evidence that killing off Randy was a dreadful mistake (there was severe fan backlash about this, which is slyly referenced at one stage). Admittedly, Scream 3 remains watchable and at times enjoyable throughout thanks to technical competency, but it's nowhere near as solid as its predecessors.

Work commitments limited Neve Campbell's involvement in the filming of Scream 3, and it shows. As a result, Sidney feels like more of an afterthought who's present out of obligation to the franchise. Literally, she does not do anything - Dewey and Gale have become the protagonists, while Sidney adopts a peripheral role. Sure, she has bearing on the story and on the motivation of the killer, but she feels too much like a useless supporting character. At least Campbell's performance is strong, though. Fortunately, Courtney Cox and David Arquette also carried out their duties well enough. The highlight of the cast, though, is Parker Posey as a vapid, ditzy actress who plays the role of Gale Weathers in Stab 3 and takes pride in playing the character even better than Gale herself. The banter between Cox and Posey is often hilarious.

In final analysis, Scream 3 remains the weak link of the Scream franchise. Even Wes Craven himself has admitted that this third film is more towards Scooby-Doo than Scream. At the very least, Scream 3 is a fun guilty pleasure, but it falls short of generating any sense of fear, and is without the wit and subversion that made Scream a modern classic.

5.6/10