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Year:   2000
Studio: Dimension Films
Movie:  3/5
DVD:    3/5

Movie

I don't like horror movies. I don't like being scared and the supernatural is very scary. Thrillers are not so bad because people don't walk through walls or shrug off bullets. So I didn't watch the Scream series because it looks like a supernatural horror movie.

But Shannon and Kimberly had a Scream night where the group watched all three movies and it they were good. Cleverly written with an ultimately human villain and comedic elements, they are scary movies but not too scary and they have plots too.

Scream 3 is the last movie in the trilogy. Once again there is a grim reaper killer out for Sidney (Neve Campbell), who is in hiding. To lure her out, he starts murdering the cast of Stab 3, a fictional movie based on her experiences. One of the appeals of the Scream series are the guest stars that appear and die and Scream 3 is no different: Parker Posey, Scott Foley, Lance Henricksen, Jenny McCarthy, Patrick Warburton and others are all offed.

There are also two relationships developed in the movie. First there is Dwight (David Arquette) and Gale (Courtney Cox) who I believe at the end of the second movie were an item. But in this movie we find out that their relationship hadn't worked out. Dwight is a bit bitter but he still loves Gale and wants to make it work. Gale deep down loves Dwight but thinks that their careers and lives would be ruined.
The other relationship is Sidney and LAPD Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey). Unfortunately in the Scream movies Sidney's romantic interest is either murdered or turns out to be the real killer. The fun part is trying to determine from the clues which is it going to be.

Actors

I'm not good at noticing good performances. Even bad performances I tend to not notice. Luckily, there's a commentary track and the commentators loved Neve Campbell and Parker Posey. Neve has a great ability to cry on cue and Parker has a knack for adlibbing and fast talk.

DVD

The extras include a 6-1/2 minute outtakes segment, There is another 6-1/2 montage of the behind-the-scenes of the three Scream films. There are a couple of deleted scenes along with commentary. There is also an alternate ending with commentary. Various trailers and commercials are also included. Creed has a music video for "What If". Cast and Crew Bios are surprisingly diverse — usually you only have bios for the top two actors and maybe the director. Finally there is the Audio Commentary with Director Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena, and Editor Patrick Lussier. It's a fairly standard commentary, not especially good or bad. Actually a little better than average.

Recommendation

It's a fine movie. A smart horror film that satisfies the horror crowd and the not-quite horror crowd. The Scream series spawned a slew of imitations and it's well worth it to see the original.

Copyright (c) 2003 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: December 15, 2003 Page Last Updated: December 15, 2003