Review of Scream 3 (2000) by C.r. L — 27 Aug 2011

There are rules for a trilogy that one must abide by. 1.) The First act sets up the rules, 2.) The second act bends the rules, 3.) Well let us just say in the third act all bets are off and the real mind games begin. In the first "SCREAM" (1996), a young high school girl named Sidney Prescott, still reeling from the murder of her mother a year prior gets sucked into a hellish game of life and death when a psychopath wearing a ghost face masked terrorizes the high school kids of Woodsboro. "Scream 2" takes place a few years after the Woodsboro murders have occurred a now older, stronger and feistier Sidney is in College with her friend and survivor Randy Meeks(Jamie Kennedy). Life seems to be looking up for Sidney that is until young couples are brutally murdered at the premiere of "STAB" a film inspired by the Woodsboro killings. Now it seems the infamous Ghostface has returned for his grand finale. To complete his blood real life trilogy that he has been working at for the better part of five years. Five years of death, five years of suffering and terror has all come down to this final, blood curdling final installment where everyone is in jeopardy even the heroine of the little slasher series that did, Sydney Prescott(Neve Campbell). All bets are off and when the time comes, Syd will have to square off against the most devious of all the killers to done the Ghostface mask. She will face off against the killer responsible for everything that has happened to her, all the deaths and all the suffering that she has endured all comes down to this final installment, because when the bodies start to drop and the mask comes off your jaw will drop, because In this final installment all bets are off.

While "Scream 3" is basically still the same old story with some new twists and turns this film fails to capture the wit, charm and sheer utter terror that the first two films in this legendary franchise made so palpable. The lack of terror and the almost complete lack of humor is largely due to the fact that the series screenwriter Kevin Williamson("Scream", "Scream 2", "Cursed", "The Vampire Diaries") is absent from his duties as the writer of this final installment to the ground breaking franchise, instead this lesser installment has been written by lesser screenwriter Ehren Kruger. Kruger (the irony) shows his skills as a writer but he conforms to too many horror clichés and plot devices that this final part of the original horror satirical series resembles an average slasher film and it is a real shame to see such a fantastic series end on such poor note. Did I hate "Scream 3"? No, I did not. Did I think it lived up to the standards of this legendary franchise? No, it does not. Is this a bad film? Movies standards it is still far above the norm of the last two decades by the franchises standards this film is far from great. My only complaint is that this installment lacks the Meta humor and the in-jokes of the two previous installments and instead goes for straight out horror blood and gore. Without the humor or the satirical tone that the first two installments established this third film falls short of expectations and instead of going for the throat( no pun intended) it instead decides to settle for average modern day horror instead of the meta-horror this franchise is know and loved for. "Scream 3" is a strong film and it proves that this franchise still has some strength left in it but its lack of humor and its willingness to conform to horror film clichés and that is where its failure lies and also why this film as an entry in the "Scream " franchise fails to live up to its title. " Scream 3" is a hoot but it is nowhere near being scary.

I liked this film for its daring attitude to lean more towards action and excitement instead of psychological mind games and bloody horror(which I prefer) and even though there are still some psychological aspects to this film it lacks the almost nerve shredding suspense and spine tingling horror that made "Scream"(1995) the cult classic that it is. "Scream 3" is a great looking film with a great looking cast of previous cast members and new inductee's this entry is fast paced, bloody, gory but sadly not as smart or as witty as the last two. It also lacks the charm and style of its predecessors but what it makes up for charm and style it has in strong performances from Neve Campbell and its supporting cast and a cameo from former cast member Jaime Kennedy as Randy Meek( is a more than welcomed return). Thanks to In part from the stylish direction of Wes Craven he is able to keep, this film afloat despite the flaws in this films story and the blatant lack of style, humor and class. "Scream 3" is a good horror thriller but it is also a flawed film that has little to no charm or joy in what it is doing or in its on going torture of Sidney Prescott(Neve Campbell). This film has guts but it has no balls to go the distance.

Neve Campbell is the glue that holds these films together without her strong performance this series would have died before it even had a chance to take off. Although the development of Sidney as a character is almost impossible to progress any further than it already has but Campbell is able to add some much needed paranoia to the character of Sidney Prescott sadly there is not much else that she can bring to the table for this character and what she brings is satisfactory. Campbell is an excellent actress but in this role, she is usually looking scared or running away, she rarely ever fights back against Ghostface. However, Sidney has been a positive role model for women over the last decade as she is strong, resourceful, resilient, and highly intelligent. As a horror movie heroine, she still falls under the category of the scream queens even if she rarely does scream in these films. Campbell is one of the best horror heroines since Jaime Curtis she shows those new generation scream queens how it's done. The rest of the cast including David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, and Parker Posey turn in fine supporting performances in this nicely made horror thriller.

"Scream 3" is in no ways a classic but for what it is it certainly a lot of fun and one hell of a ride getting there. I have my doubts and my complaints about this film, I certainly think it is the weakest of the series and quite frankly a damn shame that this has happened to such a prestigious franchise but then again I was expecting it. No franchise can stay original and fresh forever not even one as inventive as this. "Scream 3" is a failure in many ways but it succeeds in giving audiences and loyal fans of the series the closure to this franchise story that they needed grant it may not be the way I had hoped it would end but it certainly was better than I expected.