Scream 3 (2000)

Directed by: Wes Craven | 116 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Liev Schreiber, Beth Toussaint, Roger Jackson, Kelly Rutherford, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, Julie Janney, Richmond Arquette, Patrick Dempsey, Lynn McRee, Nancy O’Dell, Ken Taylor, Scott Foley, Roger Corman, Lance Henriksen, Josh Pais, Deon Richmond, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey, Patrick Warburton, David Arquette, John Embry, Lawrence Hecht, Lisa Beach, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Erik Erath, Daniel K. Arredondo, Lisa Gordon, Heather Matarazzo, Jamie Kennedy, Carrie Fisher, CW Morgan, Robert Baier, Wes Craven, Peter Deming

After the overwhelming success of ‘Scream’ (1996) and its sequel ‘Scream 2’ (1997), Kevin Williamson was one of the most in-demand screenwriters of the moment. Projects like ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (1997), ‘The Faculty’ (1998), ‘Teaching Mrs. Tingle’ (1999) and the hit TV series “Dawson’s Creek” crossed his path. Williamson went into everything but became overworked and had to make choices. When it was decided to make a third part of the ‘Scream’ trilogy, there was initially talk that Williamson would also write the script for that film. He had already written the first thirty pages – in between the acts – but as the studio increased the pressure, it all became too much for Williamson. He dropped out for ‘Scream 3’ (2000), after which Ehren Kruger was called in. The foundation that Williamson had laid was further fleshed out by the author of ‘Arlington Road’ (1999) and ‘Reindeer Games’ (2000). The cast members who survived the second part were called up again for this third part in the trilogy.

The third part of a trilogy is almost always the worst part. Movie freak Randy (Jamie Kennedy), who explained the rules of the horror movie and sequel to his friends and viewers in the first and second parts but didn’t survive ‘Scream 2’, shows up in ‘Scream 3’ in a very special way to shine its light on trilogies, namely through a video message. According to him, the rules are as follows: 1) the killer is almost superhuman – simply stabbing or shooting him (or her) isn’t enough; 2) anyone, even the main character, can die; 3) the past catches up with you and has unpleasant surprises in store for you. Or as Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) puts it, “All I know about movie trilogies is that in the third part all the stops are blown!” ‘Scream 3’ is set in Hollywood, where uptight director Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) is working on the film ‘Stab 3’, based on the events in Woodsboro a few years ago. The real protagonist of that nightmare, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), lives a secluded life, far from all the craziness. But her quiet life is brutally disrupted when the actors on the film set are murdered one by one and the killer leaves behind pictures of Sidney’s mother on the crime scene.

Pulp journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox Arquette) shows up to work with the police to find out who is behind the murders. Detective Kincaid is eager to question Sidney in connection with the murders, but she has no intention of leaving her hideout for now. Only when it appears that she is not safe from the killer there either, she decides to help. Meanwhile, the protagonists of the film are killed in the order as it is in the script. As we are used to from the ‘Scream’ series, a lot of blood is shed (although part one remains the bloodiest) and few characters make it to the end of the film. So the tried and tested recipe. Yet ‘Scream 3’ is a lot less successful than its two predecessors. Maybe the trick has worked. The script is as inventive and surprisingly more as that of ‘Scream’ and the new characters are hardly developed or not at all. Neve Campbell seems to be working reluctantly, because she sparkles a lot less than in the first two parts. Because she was busy with several other projects, she only wanted to be on set for twenty days. Especially in the first hour of the film, when the viewer is confronted with the brutal murders of Jenny McCarthy, Patrick Warburton and an old acquaintance, Campbell is noticeably absent.

Although the fire in the ‘Scream’ series seems really extinguished, this third part has some nice moments. The self-mockery for which the first two parts were praised is also omnipresent here. Director Wes Craven ridicules himself, the horror genre and the film industry and although it’s all a little less refreshing than a few years earlier, it’s still nice to see a filmmaker who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Several well-known figures pop up for cameo appearances, including cult director Roger Corman, ‘Clerks’ anti-heroes Jay & Silent Bob, and actress Carrie Fisher (as a studio archivist who once aspired to an acting career but played Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars’ (1977) because she didn’t want to sleep with George Lucas). Parker Posey, who plays the movie version of Gale Weathers, has some nice one-liners. Overall, however, ‘Scream 3’ is purely intended to knock even more money out of the pockets of horror-enthusiastic teenagers, without offering anything in return in terms of quality. Anyone who thought they could track down the killer will be disappointed; the denouement of the mystery is so far-fetched and ridiculous that not even the most creative mind will come up with it. The logical result is that the viewer feels cheated afterwards.

It was the same with ‘The Godfather’, with ‘Star Wars’ too. The third part in a trilogy is by far the least part. ‘Scream 3’ is no exception to that rule. For die-hard fans of the series, the film will undoubtedly have enough entertainment value, but the neutral viewer can’t help but be disappointed after seeing this third ‘Scream’ film. The fresh bravado with which Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson previously ridiculed the horror genre is gone. Instead, the viewer is presented with a worn out set of actors who have to make do with an uninspired script, complete with a truly absurd final chord. The fun cameos and the fact that Craven doesn’t take themselves too seriously, while all in favor of ‘Scream 3’, unfortunately everything else is wasted effort.