With the success of Scream in 1996 and Scream 2 in 1997, everyone out there knew part 3 was coming. But instead of it coming out the following year, the producers let this one rest for a few years. Part 3 came out 3 years after part 2 had come out. A wise choice, for 2 reasons, it gave them time to work on a good script and it built up so much hype. I remember going to see this the day it came out and the theater was completely packed. If you weren’t around for this you wouldn’t understand the major hype over the Scream films. They were the biggest and most successful slasher films out there. And there were only 3 of them!
Scream 3 starts off by killing off another one of the “main” characters. Cotton (played one last time by Liev Schreiber), after that the movie is in full movement. We learn that Sidney (Neve Campbell) has now isolated herself off and is living a life under an assumed name. Her paranoia has taken over her life. Back in Hollywood we learn that the movie within a movie Stab from part 2 was obviously a big hit, because now they are making Stab 3. Dewey (Arquette) is working as a technical advisor and Gale (Cox) is still trying to get stories. We have a new character, Detective Kincaid (Dempsey) who asks both Dewey and Gale to help him when they discover a photo of Sidney’s mother at ever murder scene. After a few more killings, Sidney is found by the killer and she comes out of hiding to help the investigation.
Again the killer is not known, and many people are suspected to be the killer. But, this time around it is only one killer, that of Roman Bridger the director of Stab 3 who turns out to be Sidney’s half brother. Okay? Apparently Sidney’s mother was an actress long before Sidney was born, she had an illegitimate child, and gave him up for adoption and moved onto a different and better life. We also learn that Roman was the one behind Sidney’s mother’s murder. He showed Billy Loomis that his father was having an affair with her mother. So, his motive? Revenge, for the life he didn’t have.
This movie is okay, but it had gotten away from what part 1 had. The plot became too complicated in this one, with having lookalikes for everyone, since they were playing them in the movie. The other thing I wish they had done, was kill off one of the 3 main characters. There were so many rumors when this movie came out that Sidney was going to be killed off, and there is even a part in the movie when you think that Dewey is going to die when a knife comes flying right at his head, only to have the butt of the knife hit him in the forehead. A few years later, we had some bold writers with the Saw movies kill off their main characters. So, why not here?
Overall, a decent ending to a great series of slasher films. Collectively, the Scream films made over $290 million. Almost $100 million per film, that’s extremely impressive for slasher films. If you’re looking for a good series of slasher films to watch, watch all 3 Scream films, it’s a fun ride.
