Scream 3

Four years before, we had the terrifying and graphically disturbing first installment in the Scream franchise and then a year later we had a terrifying sequel. However, just at the start of the new millennium and century, we have a third installment in the series where we see old faces return with new stories. Having said that the first two installments are awesome, there was a feeling about the third film that wasn't entirely convincing to come out and fully enjoy. So, therefore it would go a little out of hand, and quite frankly, in a few ways it did.

Scream 3 felt quite lazy due to the fact that now suspenseful situations became very predictable, it would end and begin almost identically to the predecessors and there was clearly going to be a twist, but even that didn't feel like a twist seeing as we knew there was one coming. The most surprising thing about Scream 3 was the fact that at times, it was like a surreal psychological thriller.

Sidney is hibernating in the woods, her whereabouts unbeknownst to everyone but Dewey. After a number of murders that seem to be related to the Woodsboro case take place on the set of Stab 3, Sid comes to Hollywood to be terrorized, find out more about her mother's death, and put together the final pieces of the Scream mystery.

For the third consecutive time, Neve Campbell returns to the role of Sidney Prescott, but this time we see a slightly different person now. We are taken further into not only Sidney's past, but her mother's past before she was murdered which projects visions in Sidney's head and we see it for ourselves. Questions arise about Sidney's sanity and whether all the cases (and maybe even the survived characters are inside her head). This doesn't lead to a villainous side to Sidney, but to a mildly psychologically disturbed Sidney after the events of the two predecessors and in the third installment. Sidney is the exact kind of character who was born cursed so to speak, because everybody who she befriends who gets close to either betrays her or get killed, and all of these killings tell us all a message saying that everything happens in this world for a reason.

Real-life spouses David Arquette and Courtney Cox reprise their roles as Dwight 'Dewey' Riley and Gale Weathers to once again investigate the murders and to unravel the mysterious identity in the ghost mask. Dewey is still a sheriff and a close friend of Sidney's who is still serving the exact same purpose. As for Gale, I cannot get my head round the fact that there has to be an impostor Gale Weathers from theStab movies featured in the films who just lingers along with the real one hopelessly trying to be her. It just didn't really work and got a bit silly. Despite their identities are being used by somebody else them and never mind Sidney Prescott, Dewey and Gale get themselves into life-threatening situations like Sidney does and they get in harms way, yet they just do not seem to die! As for their performances, it pretty much sums up a typical husband-wife married relationship, even though they aren't always together in this one. It was moaning and complaining all the time and both of them lacked their original heroic status like they earned in the first two.

Wes Craven should know by now as more films in a franchise are released, whether it is massively or only a little bit, the sequels are going to feel weaker. His Nightmare On Elm Street went weak and less terrifying after the first film, and I regret to say that lightning has struck twice, although Scream 2 was a very enjoyable sequel. Craven tends to just make the same continuously and nothing is altered, therefore it gets quite boring. Kevin Williamson is a screenwriter who I admire writing scripts from someone else, and he writes another script in the third installment. However, this time although there were a few interesting segments and a decent twist (even though we all knew there was going to be one anyway) but the film at times felt like it was needlessly continuing, so there could have been at least 10 minutes cut from it.

Overall, Scream 3 as predicted wasn't entirely as impressive or as terrifying to watch as its predecessors, but it really wasn't a bad follow-up and final film in the trilogy.. that is until 2011 with the release of Scream 4. There are still specific places within the film where it could have been much better than it turned out, but it still remains an at least satisfactory third installment in the Scream franchise that is worth a try.