JB & The Chop Do: Scream 3 (2000)

Peeps! We are totally on a roll with these movies, the most awesome Chop and I! Man, I have been having a blast, and I am thrilled the Chop was game to do another one of these. So now we are on to the third part of the original trilogy. This is, in my opinion, the weakest of the four Scream films… but what did PSC think of this thing?

SYNOPSIS: While “Stab 3” is in production, somebody in a ghost mask starts to murder the new cast members. This lures Sidney out from hiding deep in the woods where she lives, and she comes to Hollywood to face the killer for the final act. – via IMDB

So let me immediately start out by saying that Courtney Cox’s hairdresser completely screwed up her hair. Gale is this hot, tenacious reporter with very few qualms. Then she’s back here, and she is all those things but that fringe. Plus her wardrobe. Okay, there was just a lot appearance-wise that was just not working for her in this. Goodness. It was like a horror movie all on its own!

This one certainly lacked the charm of the previous two. I appreciated what was being done here, though I was not a big fan of everything being “the movies” and “on set”. It was gimmicky and didn’t work for very long. Scream 3 is certainly the flimsiest of the lot – the story is absolutely ridiculous, but what saves this is the consistency – seriously, the story, the actors reprising their roles, the humour, Sidney still wearing Derek’s necklace, it all works so well in keeping this movie afloat more so than it would otherwise have worked.

Randy Meeks got a little cameo, which was cool.

Neve Campbell truly is fantastic as Sidney, and she is one of my all time favourite horror movie heroines. She just won’t make anything easy for anyone and stands her ground. She is afraid, but she is also sick and tired of all the bullshit. Much love man, much love.

The “romance” of the phone calls has been lost, there are calls, but more often than not, like the last, it is more about slashing and killing than anything else. Scream 3 totally delivers on the gore and all, but yeah, there was just something missing.

Totally stoked to see Gale and Dewey back at it again – this is a romance I will always love. It is just so silly and it works.

Parker Posey irritates the ever-loving crap out of me always, and this movie was no exception. Aside from the silly story, I think she is the main culprit as to why this movie is not a little higher in my esteem, though I still enjoy it. She is grating, annoying, loud, ridiculous, and just all round grating. I don’t ever find her to be an asset or a selling point in a cast.

Anyway, Scream 3 is still fun, though definitely a decline after the other two, but miles ahead of most horror/shasher sequels. The reasoning and explanations get pretty fucking thin (har har) here, but it still entertains nonetheless, and the consistency of these movies elevates it. Much fun.

Scream 3! The last one! Bangs! Like I’ve said before, I’m not really familiar with these things, but I did find myself laughing a few times in this. Was this supposed to be more of a horror comedy? Or was this supposed to be a horror and the new writer through in some laughs? I know all three of these have aimed to poke fun at themselves for being a horror movie, sequel, etc but this one was kind of funny. Mostly with these two:

I’ve NEVER been a fan of Parker Posey but for some reason I liked her in this. She’s kind of…. dumb but hangs in there. When her and Bangs start screaming and running around with their arms flailing in the air, I liked it. LOL They also had some of the better lines. I liked it when Cox was tied up, off screen and she yells, “SHOOT THE FUCKER!”

I also see Jenny McCarthy’s in here. Obviously for her very good acting skills.

Plus, she really just screams purple!

The keen eye will also notice Emily Mortimer’s décolletage – look at me using fancy words!

I remember when this guy was popular as a kid – before JB was even born. Then he was popular again on that TV show which I never understood. My bad, I guess. Nice hair, bro.

So someone else has a hood and a mask and a knife and a voice altering device. He or she is going around stabbing people and throwing them through glass doors. While this one was bloodier and décolletage-ier, I thought this was pretty flimsy. Like – there’s this one scene where Campbell is running away from the ghost face guy and she opens this door on a movie set and almost falls to her death but then, when she pushes ghosty out the door he falls onto a bed that wasn’t there three seconds before.

Or, during the big climax-explain-why-hes-doing-all-of-this scene, he’s talking to her for several minutes in the killer voice but he’s not even holding the voice modulator to his mouth… because he can’t…. because he’s wearing a fucking mask! Plus, the whole reasons why this person decided to mass murder all of these people in cold blood was kind of stupid. It was kind of the cinematic rendering of this:

Meanwhile, not only were there Creed posters on the wall of the movie-set’s house, there were Creed songs played over the credits. So, speaking of asses:

Anthony Scott Stapp. Get it?? A.S.S. Get it???? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAH I fucking crack myself up. I’ve already watched number 4 by now so I can say – YUM

Review: Scream 3 (2000)

SYNOPSIS: While “Stab 3” is in production, somebody in a ghost mask starts to murder the new cast members. This lures Sidney out from hiding deep in the woods where she lives, and she comes to Hollywood to face the killer for the final act. – via IMDB

Alright, alright, this was certainly the weakest Scream film so far. It just didn’t do things as well as its predecessors, which is a pity. Not to say that it was a total waste, there is still fun to be had, but definitely not on the same level as before. There are flaws, there are contrivances, there is so much useless screaming and not such snappy conversation… what a pity.

Courteney Cox’s hairdresser completely screwed up her hair. I mean whoa. Gale is this hot, tenacious reporter with very few qualms, sassy as can be and pretty hardcore. Then she’s back here, and she is all those things but that fringe. Goodness. It was like a horror movie all on its own! It really didn’t suit her or her character whatsoever.

This one certainly lacked the charm of the previous two. I appreciated what was being done here, though I was not a big fan of everything being “the movies” and “on set”. It was gimmicky and didn’t work for very long at all.

Neve Campbell returns as our reluctant heroine Sidney, and Scream 3 spends a little more time looking at her fractured psyche, as well as how she has locked herself away from the world, terrified and slowly dealing with things, but unwilling to be a part of the public eye anymore. Being dragged out because Ghostface is back was obviously inevitable, but the story really gets rolling when she steps in. I thoroughly enjoyed the throwbacks to seeing the set of Sidney’s home, the garage, etc. Those were nice little reminders, but some got overplayed and quickly. Our Randy Meeks got a little cameo, which was cool. We miss you Randy! But it also felt like it was squeezed in for those who raged about that terrible decision in the last film.

We have another cop here, which I am sure some ladies appreciated immensely. Patrick Dempsey plays Detective Mark Kincaid, the cop that is investigating the latest slew of murders, and who keeps Sidney at arms length while doing his job. I liked that not everybody pitied her out of hand, he was not for that. In his mind, she was a potential suspect, though he thaws later.

Something that I really miss? The “romance” of the phone calls has been lost, there are calls, but more often than not, like the last, it is more about slashing and killing than anything else.

Then let’s talk about Parker Posey – I don’t like her. I never have, and I don’t think I ever will. I find her to be such an annoyance in all movies and she always comes across as whiney, no matter that she is playing the bitch/ruler/whatever. This was no exception – she never shut up, she was entitled, and I feel that she did more harm for the film than she did good.

As for the big killer reveal at the end, sheesh. That was a whole different kettle of fish to fry. I mean Cotton was being dragged in here (again), but he honestly didn’t last very long at all.

I cannot skip over mentioning Dewey in this post because we all know I am a huge fan. He provided some humour again, and watching him and Gale dance around each other after their history was something else entirely, but I felt that he was wasted here, and they make it look like Dewey can have no life or respect without Gale, which is kinda sad.

Scream 3 was also plagued by ridiculously silly and cheesy, predictable deaths, which was a little bit of a letdown. But when all is said and done, I have seen infinitely worse movies, this one still had some redeeming aspects and fits in with the trilogy nicely.