Scream 3 isn’t a terrible film and in some ways has gotten a tad better over time but the killer reveal at the end will always keep it from being on the same playing field as the first two. I will say that the film never feels stale and only gets me excited for Scream 4 and maybe some of the elements the filmmakers will hopefully rectify.
Scream 3 (2000)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense
Lionsgate | R – 117 min. – $19.99 | March 29, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Wes Craven
Writer(s): Kevin Williamson (characters), Ehren Kruger (written by)
Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox Arquette, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Jenny McCarthy, Parker Posey, Deon Richmond, Patrick Warburton, Liev Schreiber
Theatrical Release Date: February 4, 2000
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurette, Music Videos, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
NOTE: For some reason these images have gotten downsized on Photobucket so please visit the Scream 3 page for the actual screen capture as I had done. Thank you.
THE MOVIE – 3/5
“It could be f***ing “Reservoir Dogs” by the time this thing is through.”
Scream 3 was at the time supposed to the culmination of the trilogy which began, at the time, 4 years prior. Now Ghost Face is back and he (or she?) wants blood… or at least bodies and in particular, Sidney Prescott dead!
After the events that occurred both in Woodsboro and Winsor College, no one can blame Sidney (NEVE CAMPBELL) prefers her shut off life living in the middle of nowhere, in a very nice house I might add, biding her time by volunteering to be a counselor on a women’s abused anonymous hotline. Her world is shaken up when, as the film opens, Ghost Face has struck and taken out Cotton Weary (LIEV SCHREIBER) who over the years since the last killing spree has become a trashy, but successful talk show host with a beautiful girlfriend (KELLY RUTHERFORD) primed for a killing as well.
Of course, when the bodies start piling up, whom else but Gale Weathers (COURTNEY COX) would come into the fold? Well, this time she’s brought up to speed by the lead detective on the double homicide, Mark Kincaid (PATRICK DEMPSEY) revealing that a picture of a much younger Maureen Prescott was left at the scene. And as the bodies start piling up, at each scene, another picture is left.
In the meantime, we also get caught up with Dewey who, despite the events of the last film – and in similar fashion to the character introductions of Scream 2 – is split from Gale because they just couldn’t get along. Well, in reality Gale helped Dewey recover in Woodsboro but she could not sit still in that town and had to leave. Now Dewey is working as a technical advisor on the set of “Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro” which has a cast of nobodies and yet fresh bodies for Ghost Face to slaughter… unless one of them is the killer! With the killings, the film’s production comes to a halt much to the displeasure of its director Roman Bridger (SCOTT FOLEY) and producer John Milton (LANCE HENRIKSEN), not to mention the young cast who desperately need the work.
As you can guess, more killings happen and more pictures and Gale, along with Jennifer Jolie (PARKER POSEY) playing her “Stab 3” counterpart, discover that Maureen worked for the same studio and “Stab 3” producer back when she was only 19/20, a mysterious time in her life. What connection does this have with the previous films? As Randy in a lame video tape lecture on the rules of a trilogy: “The past is not at rest. Any sins you think were committed in the past are about to break out and destroy you.” Little did he know that sin would be called Scream 3! Hey oh!
Yeah, we get to the final reveal and, well, it’s just plain stupid. The action in that scene was fine and Sidney got to kick some ass and all, but it was just a poor attempt to shoehorn that kind of motive to bring things full circle. I don’t know who’s to blame but since apparently when the first two Scream movies worked pretty damn well and the only person missing from the equation was writer Kevin Williamson, well then I guess a good portion of blame rests on Williamson’s replacement, Ehren Kruger, who is no doubt talented as seen by the bleak but still incredible Arlington Road (he’s since been associated with the Transformers movies… yikes) but here Williamson’s voice was missing. For whatever reason, the studio rejected his script, though I’m positive there’s more to it than that, and went with Kruger’s POS script instead ruining what could have actually been a fine finale. Hopefully Scream 4 can rectify any mistakes made here.
Scream 3 isn’t nearly as awful as I remember it being when I first saw it in theaters way back in 2000 but it’s not a very good entry either. The returning cast at this point seemed to go through the motions, though props again to Neve Campbell for her fight sequence at the end, while the newbies are alright with Parker Posey probably standing out the most.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5
Like the Blu-rays for the first two Scream movies, everything has been ported over. All features are in standard definition.
First on the docket is a decent if not low-key enough feature commentary with Director Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena and Editor Patrick Lussier; a couple of deleted scenes (13:33) and an alternate ending (10:02) with optional commentaries for both sets; Outtakes (6:34) with your standard but funny line flubs; a Behind-the-Scenes Montage (6:20) from all 3 Scream movies; the music video (4:57) for “What If” by Creed; plus the Theatrical Trailer (1:26), International Trailer (1:39) and several TV Spots (TRT 5:46).
There is a preview for the upcoming Scream 4 release and advertising for the Saw Blu-ray releases.
VIDEO – 4/5
Presented in its original 2.35 aspect ratio, Scream 3 probably looks the best of the three releases. There’s still seemed to be some oversaturation that was prevalent in the other two Blu-rays. Otherwise, it’s a nice transfer void of dirty, scratches and other flaws while still maintaining natural film grain enhancing detail levels.
AUDIO – 4/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is again good though nothing exceptional. The center and side channels got most of the use from dialogue/screams while the rear speakers provided some depth with ambient noises. It’s not a great lossless track but certainly on par with other catalogue titles.
OVERALL – 3/5
Overall, Scream 3 isn’t a terrible film and in some ways has gotten a tad better over time but the killer reveal at the end will always keep it from being on the same playing field as the first two. I will say that the film never feels stale and only gets me excited for Scream 4 and maybe some of the elements the filmmakers will hopefully rectify before moving on with, from what I read a new storyline and cast.
The Movieman
Published: 04/02/2011