Scream 3

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Sidney Prescott (played again by Neve Campbell) lives in self-imposed isolation. Dewey Riley (played again by David Arquette) lives in Los Angeles, and works as an onset consultant for the third and final film based on the lives of the series protagonists. Gale Weathers (played again by Courteney Cox) has become something of a Diane Sawyer-type. Sidney finds her life in turmoil once again when a new killer starts heaping up bodies. Neve Campbell is really good in this movie, probably turning in her best work in the franchise (and her career). On the more negative side of things, she feels a little sidelined at times. As much as I enjoy Dewey and Gale as characters, this movie feels a little too much like it's their story (not Sidney's). At the time this movie came out, it was intended to be the last installment of a trilogy. Some of the movie's best moments come from this idea. Two of my favorite scenes in the movie deal with Sidney trying to deal with her past, often-times her family relationships. Jamie Kennedy has a fun cameo in the movie where he explains the rules of a trilogy. I also love the cameo from Carrie Fisher. It doesn't really need to be there, but it still feels like it belongs in a Scream film. Without giving too much away, the climax of this movie is probably my favorite of the four films. On the other hand, the tone of this movie doesn't work as well as it should. The first two movies do a good job of balancing horror and comedy. With this movie, it leans a little too much to the side of comedy. The new characters in this movie don't really leave much of an impression. Parker Posey gets a couple of laughs, admittedly. However, I couldn't tell you what their names were. Overall, Scream 3 was a decent movie that could have been much better. The movie had some good ideas that could've been executed much better.

6 / 10