To my recollection, Scream 3 was the first R-rated movie I “legally” saw in theaters once I was of age. Perhaps that is why I had so many fond memories of it even though the troubled production and distinct lack of the main character had given others a critical leg to stand on. I figured I would like Scream 2 more this time around but the end result was about the same. Would my Scream 3 memories fare any better?
Well, yes and no. By 1999, writer Kevin Williamson had been involved with several Scream-ish productions as well as launching the pinnacle of teen angst, Dawson’s Creek. Thus he was either too busy to return or was burnt out from young adult affairs. Likewise, Neve Campbell was reportedly difficult to nail down for this installment, agreeing to it only with a reduced schedule (and thus reduced screentime). Since the rest of the important cast and crew returned, we have what seems to be a Scream movie, but doesn’t really feel like a Scream movie.
The first lampooned horror movies in general while the second targeted sequels, remakes, and “Based On” movies. Scream 3 focuses on Hollywood as a whole to uneven results. The main crux of the film is based on the production of Stab 3, the second sequel to the film based on the events of the first featured in the second. If you haven’t seen these movies, this won’t make sense. Given that what we saw of Stab was so laughably bad and overacted, it figures that Stab 3 would be full of dull, uninteresting characters who, coincidentally, are on similar trajectories as the characters here.
Writer Ehren Kruger seems to be as aware of the Scream formula as any of the fans. We have the obligatory celebrity death scene up front, then reconnecting with characters we care about, then learning about those we don’t. In the process are some death scenes and some meta-commentary (this time on rewrites and the prospect of being an actor in a horror movie) before a big finale. But instead of injecting some fresh blood into the series, Kruger copies the previous movie, faults and all. Remember that cumbersome cast that no one could really stand out from in the last? It’s back again. Even though there are some decent performances from the likes of Matt Keeslar or Deon Richmond, there are as many completely useless characters that might as well have died in their first frame.
Much to any fan’s enjoyment, Randy (Jamie Kennedy) returns to give the final rules for a trilogy on the reasoning that the film’s random backstory throws the sequel rules out. Considering none of the “concluding horror trilogy” rules apply and they appear in a badly written scene (a random girl can wander on and off a movie set with no one noticing?), his appearance is neat but it doesn’t fit the story at all other than to point out how Kruger can kind of write like Williamson. As evidenced by the sort of cool, yet totally out of place scene when Sidney is dreaming about her dead mother, Kruger is a decent writer but apparently not the right guy for this series.
**SPOILERS HERE. SORRY, I CAN’T AVOID THEM THIS TIME**
The ending is a total mess. Not only is it “inspired” from several other scenes from the series thus far, but the reveal of the killer to be Roman illustrates what is wrong with the movie. Given that Campbell was MIA for much of the movie, she hadn’t previously interacted with Roman. He has to introduce himself be revealing that he orchestrated Billy and Stu from the first and was her half-brother. Yikes. And we thought the motives for the last two were sketchy. At least you could kind of understand where the anger, or just craziness, of Billy and Stu or Micky and Mrs. Loomis were coming from. Roman here just comes off as a little bitch, whining that he didn’t get his way.
**END SPOILERS**
Aside from the asinine final act, the mostly comedic tale has its positives, especially from the likes of the manic Parker Posey as the wannabe Gale Weathers or the sarcastic detective played by Josh Pais. Of course, David Arquette and Courteney Cox return and they mostly take center stage while Sidney is in hiding. Patrick Dempsey as the detective in charge is one of the few sympathetic new characters and one that you actually hope might make it. After the near perfection from the last film, director Wes Craven takes a more restrained approach with nothing incredibly bad but nothing really standing out like the last. There were a few jumps and chase scenes that were done well but given the lackluster script, he might have decided not to give a damn.
It is funny that this review is longer than the previous two because I keep going back and forth on this movie. On one hand, it’s entertaining which is pretty much all that I can hope for on some level. As a random horror film, it is okay but riddled with the contrivances, plot holes, and teleporting killers that you might see in Friday the 13th Part VIII. As a Scream film though, it is a poor copy of the largely better films, even the one rushed into production.
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