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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Movie Review: SCREAM 3

SCREAM 3
2000
R



Scream 3 is a 2000 horror-comedy and the third film in Wes Craven's Scream franchise. We once again pick up on a series of murders related to Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her troubled past. When Cotton Leary (Liev Schreiber) is murdered after taking a role in the upcoming film Stab 3 - fans will recognize this movie-franchise-within-a-movie-franchise - talk of a third recurrence of the Ghostface killings surfaces. Enter Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who both want to solve the recent string of murders that's leaving actors in the upcoming film lacking the spark of life. When Sidney comes to Hollywood to help the investigation, she once again puts her life in danger.

You can probably imagine the rest of the storyline, especially if you've seen any of the films in the Scream franchise. My plot synopsis probably sounds a little tired and repetitive, and the movie is basically that. However, I still found myself completely entrenched with the story. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by the final reveal of the killer, something I hadn't had since partially having it the first time around. There's still a little bit of bite left in this third installment, and screenwriter Ehren Kruger channels Kevin Williamson pretty well.

The acting from our big three (Campbell, Arquette and Cox) is on the same level of the previous two installments in the series, so there's not much to talk about there. Nobody is really wow-ing the audience in this one, but there are a few pleasant surprises in the cameo and supporting role departments. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), easily the most entertaining character in the Scream universe, sends a message from the grave to explain the rules of a horror trilogy, and boy was I stoked to see him again. We've also got appearances by Patrick Dempsey, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey and Patrick Warburton. Oh, and there's a few cameos that deserve special mention: Carrie Fisher - most famous for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films - plays a small role, and everyone's favorite stoners Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively) even find their way onto the set.

Sure, this one's missing a little bit of the horror aspect of its "horror-comedy" seating, and even some of the comedy falls a little flat. However, Scream 3 is not much of a step down from its immediate predecessor, and as I said earlier - the ending took me by surprise. It's a very good addition to the Sidney Prescott story, and now I can't wait for the newest installment (Scream 4) due out this April. Oh yeah, it's a new decade. You know there's gonna be some new rules.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B-
1.5 Thumbs Up

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