Scream 3 (2000)

The most terrifying scream is always the last.

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Parker Posey, Scott Foley, Deon Richmond, Emily Mortimer, Lance Henriksen, Jenny McCarthy, Matt Keeslar, Patrick Warburton, Liev Schreiber, Kelly Rutherford, Jamie Kennedy, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Carrie Fisher

Director: Wes Craven

Running Time: 116 minutes

US MPAA rating: N/A
UK BBFC rating: 18
Horror, Mystery, Thriller

On DVD

On DVD

Throw another insipid power ballad onto the CD player - it's time for 'Scream 3'. Where were we? Well, in the words of Craig David, allow me to "fill you in". 'Scream' was the horror movie sensation of 1996, setting itself up as the ultimate in self-referential knowingness and delivering plenty of Wes Craven's trademark shocks along the way. 'Scream 2', released a year later, also contained its fair share of frighteners, but was a major let-down on practically every other front. Now, climbing yet another couple of rungs down the quality ladder, we've got 'Scream 3', a pile of steaming plopsy if ever there was one.

Sure, Neve Campbell for some reason signed up to complete the trilogy. So too did fellow go-the-distancers Courteney Cox and David Arquette. But dear oh dear, they must have been hanging their Hollywood heads in shame after wrapping up this hokum. Or if they weren't, they should have been.

The flick takes place on the set of the made-up movie 'Stab 3', where a bloke in a strangely-familiar ghost mask is making a nuisance of himself by running around murdering members of the cast and crew. So our three franchise survivors, like the do-gooders they are, try to use their past gruesome experiences to help catch the killer - but before you can say "none of this even makes any sense," they're on the top of his hit list. And that's "hit" with a capital "S".

Wes Craven knows good and well how to shock an audience using his trusty well-worn catalogue of generic conventions, so I can only assume it was actually his 'Newsround'-presenting brother John who really helmed this one. There's not a single genuine scare to be had for the entire lacklustre 116 minutes, the cast all look like they'd rather be elsewhere (particularly Campbell, who doesn't even ATTEMPT one of her token forced facial expressions this time round), and the gaping stab wounds left by the slasher are never any match for the giant holes in the plot. 'Scream 3' isn't even fit to mop up the original movie's mess.

DVD Extras: Out-takes and deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes montage, an alternate ending, Wes' audio commentary, cast & crew bios, a couple of theatrical trailers, and a Creed music video (oh Jeez). Extras: 7 out of 10

It's Got: Carrie Fisher playing - you've guessed it - a failed actress who's sick of being mistaken for Carrie Fisher. Yes, yes, very bloody clever. Excuse me while I vom.

It Needs: Courteney Cox to sort her fringe out - and fast.

Alternatives: Scream, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Summary: When the only thing remotely scary about a so-called horror movie turns out to be Courteney Cox's wig, you know it's been a long two hours. Overall Score: 3 out of 10

Review by Gary Panton

External Links

Scream 3 at the IMDB

Comments

3 Comments

I think the screams rock man i love horrors i currently take film class at the mo and i just cant get enought of thum!!!!!!!

Comment by:- Andy | | 02 October 2004 | ip: logged

Gary's review was more entertaining than this movie, started to feel psychic as I watched, as the scenes were predictable to the point of showing off to my friends, they started to think I'd already seen it! As for Andy the film class guy Andy, man if your inspiration is drawn from the scream series, guess I won't be seeing you any time soon

Comment by:- Dean | | 07 November 2004 | ip: logged

A good follow up to the first two films, although the original is still the superior film...

Comment by:- gilletbd1977 | www.thedvdreport.com/dvd_revie... | 29 June 2005 | ip: logged