At the time of its release, “horror trilogies” were not exactly a thing. True, the big three all had numerous sequels to their name by that point, but to call most of them a coherent, consecutive story would be to ignore the general point. Now, Halloween has multiple branching timelines that treat specific entries that way. Still, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are not as connected as Scream is.
This is despite the fact that a few entries do have some characters continuing on from a previous entry. Scream 3 was a different beast at the time it was set to premiere, and to this day, it acts as a compelling thematic close. Considering Scream 7 was released the day before this review landed, we can all see why “thematic” was used rather than definitive.
Where Scream 2 was released a little under a year after Scream, the third movie would come almost three years later and in a very different landscape. Columbine directly impacted how Scream 3 was handled, from the gore being toned down to whole aspects being excised. On top of this, Neve Campbell was concerned about being typecast as well as being busy with Party of Five, the show that had helped to make her a household name. While it is often discussed that Sidney Prescott took a backseat in the third film, that is not entirely true. It would not be until Scream (2022) that Sidney was relegated to a truly supporting role, and Scream VI, which omitted her entirely. Sidney’s role was carefully structured in Scream 3, with much of her early material being done by herself. However, this story is still fundamentally about her.
The middle was simply dedicated to the machinations of Gale (Courteney Cox) and Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey), and the film was not harmed by that detail. Gale and Dewey took on outsized roles, especially compared to Scream, with the film dedicating almost a quarter of its running time to the pair individually. There is a reason that the trio was considered the franchise’s true heroes, and their varying relationships set the stage for an entertaining (for the time) closing chapter to the series.
Scream 3 is the first of two entries to be centered on a real-world location – the other being VI, which is set in New York. Centered on the troubled production of Stab 3, we are relocated from Woodsboro and Windsor College to Hollywood, and the cast who become the targets of a Ghostface who is seeking Sidney. Like every Scream film (until 2022), it opens with a shocking double murder – and while both actors are big names, what made this one so surprising was who the primary target was.
Christine Hamilton (Kelly Rutherford) and Cotton Weary (Liev Schrieber) are the initial targets, and act as the barometer for how the film wanted to present itself. There were no safe characters this time. Granted, Scream 2 kind of drove that home when it took out Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), who, through fan outcry, does appear in this entry via a video presented by his younger sister, Martha (Heather Matarazzo).
The primary ensemble, as previously mentioned, was the cast of the film-within-a-film, Stab 3, being directed by Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). With Tori Spelling and David Schimmer having both dropped out after the first two films, Anglina Tyler (Emily Mortimer) and Tom Prinze (Matt Keeslar) were cast to replace them, alongside purported returning cast member Jennifer Jolie. The rest of the cast included Tyson Fox (Don Richmond) and Sarah Darling (Jenny McCarthy), with the film being produced by Sunrise Studios and executive John Milton (Lance Henriksen). What makes this film interesting is that it is entirely fictional, because until the cast of Stab 3 were on the chopping block, there was no third massacre. It is even implied that Gale hasn’t written a book for them to base the film on. Dewey has since retired from official police work. He is acting as a consultant for Stab 3, living in an RV on Jennifer’s property. It is here that we are also given the hilarious, if hilariously named, Steven Stone (Patrick Warburton), Jennifer’s bodyguard.
Scream 3 was intended to put the series to bed in a grand finale. It did so by connecting directly to the past and reinvestigating it, partly through an investigation led by Gale and Jennifer, but also through a more official channel. While the police’s efforts have always been a part of Scream, especially through Dewey, we are treated to Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) and his partner, Detective Wallace (Josh Pais), who initially try to find Sidney and then work to protect her when she finally enters the picture.
Mark’s chemistry with Sidney played a major role, too, such that fans had hoped that he would ultimately return when the series returned to focus on Sidney’s later life – alas, that was not to be. Still, considering much of his role in the final film only exists because the original decision to have a second killer was reworked, necessitating the ending to be reshot, who knows what the future would have held for him anyway?
Despite having to tone down the violence and the glut of behind-the-scenes issues that resulted in the film being reworked on the fly, Scream 3 is a genuinely great slasher film. Even though Sidney is “sidelined” for much of the film by staying in police protective custody, she fights off Ghostface like she always does – proving why she is the definitive Final Girl. With the advent of Stab 3 being such an integral part of the story, this film does not shy away from reaching back deep into the film’s history. When the film is shut down, Sidney is on the set of the film and remembers her past – the good and the bad. When Ghostface interrupts with his first attack on her, Sidney re-executes the same maneuver she used on Stu in her very first attack. Up to and including running up the stairs. Sadly, this time, the set does not cooperate with her plans, forcing her to innovate in real time.
Scream 3 was, at the time of its release, viewed as the weakest film in the series. With more films released, opinions are divided on which film is “weaker” than another, but this one has benefited greatly from nostalgia. By the time the credits roll and Sidney seems to have earned her happy ending, one might have even hoped that it was true while simultaneously looking forward to the next installment.
Lloydd Marshall Books 