ACCUSATION: Franchise killer.
DEFENSE: Third time’s a charm.
With this week’s release of the fourth installment of Wes Craven’s Scream franchise, I thought I’d take another stab at the last film in the former trilogy. I remember being completely disappointed in Scream 3 upon its initial release, and it seems that in most of the coverage of the new film, that thought is shared. Comparatively with the second film, the second sequel has aged way better. 
There’s a lot to love about both of the Scream sequels, and I hope that Friday’s fourth entry into the saga of the ghostface killer continues to cut at the conventions of the slasher movie. Scream 2 was a flat out send-up of movies based on real events, introducing the movie within the movie called Stab. It played by the rules that the body count is always higher. But with the third movie, our favorite film geek Randy (played by Jamie Kennedy) returns from the dead via VHS to let us know we’re dealing with the rarity of the horror field – the trilogy. In the trilogy, the third part is the final act.
Of course the main rule to remember about a third act is that it’s all about going back to the beginning. What Scream 3 does right, it does from the start. The opening kill is Cotton Weary, original suspect of the first film and the ironic hero of the second. If there was one plot line or character that needed sacrificing, it was wisely that. Cotton’s disposed with quickly and gets his rightful comeuppance.
Bookending the movie is the sordid past of Sydney plot-line, which is a bit over the top, but the gradual build to it provides both a nice hurdle fort the character to overcome, and it allows for Scream 3 to combine elements of whodunit that were missing in the second film.
What we love about the Scream films is in their blend of satire and scares. Comedy and Horror are two genres that have traditionally complemented each other well, and the filmmakers know this. I’d say the third film is easily the most overtly comedic of the trilogy, with endless celebrity cameos and the brilliant casting of Parker Posey as a ridiculously annoying actress named Jennifer Jolie.
The third Scream doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is what works against it the most. Critics pointed out the conventions initially slayed by the original movie had now become all too common by this final act. Since we have now had ten years pass by in which the Horror genre’s been subjected to true terrors like remakes, torture porn and remakes of torture porn, I’d say we’re due for a whole new round of convention slaying. The time couldn’t be better for a Scream 4, and it’s also a great time to catch up on the trilogy that started the franchise.
All three Scream movies are now available on Blu-ray.
