Scream 3 **1/2
Rated on a 4-star scale Screening venue: Odeon (Manchester City Centre) Released in the UK by Buena Vista International on April 28, 2000; certificate 18; 117 minutes; country of origin USA; aspect ratio 2.35:1
Directed by Wes Craven; produced by Cathy Konrad, Marianne Maddalena, Kevin Williamson. Written by Ehren Kruger; based on characters created by Kevin Williamson. Photographed by Peter Deming; edited by Patrick Lussier.
CAST..... Neve Campbell..... Sidney Prescott David Arquette..... Dwight 'Dewey' Riley Courteney Cox Arquette..... Gale Weathers Patrick Dempsey..... Detective Mark Kincaid Scott Foley..... Roman Bridger Lance Henriksen..... John Milton Jenny McCarthy..... Sarah Darling Parker Posey..... Jennifer Jolie
The character Neve Campbell plays in "Scream 3" has been so badly shaken in the first two movies that she now lives in Monterey with a reclusive anonymous lifestyle. When she finally drives to California to join in with the rest of the action, she's quieter, thoughtful and more authoritative. Watching this makes us realise what great potential Campbell has for performing in serious drama. I kept fantasising about writing a great screenplay for her, to showcase her captivating presence and win her international acclaim.
It's not just time for Neve to move on, though, but everyone involved. When the original "Scream" was released in 1996, it was a stunning comic idea -- a film with the structure of a slasher pic in which the characters knew all the clichés and had self-referential conversations about them. Unfortunately, the idea was copied, and quickly became a cliché in itself. Now almost every American movie starring kids under 20 is filled with smug, cynical allusions to pop culture that just make us groan and yawn.
Given that its options are limited and it's the third trek over the same ground, "Scream 3" does a pretty good job of engaging us. The filmmakers have announced that it's the last in the series, and while I'm not about to complain, at least their latest work is watchable. It comes up with a pretty ingenious way of generating more jokes, in fact, by setting its story in Hollywood, and featuring the production of a movie called "Stab 3". A horror movie, wouldn't you know it, based on characters from the first two "Scream" pictures.
This gives the director, Wes Craven, and his screenwriter, Ehren Kruger, the freedom to blur the line between what's going on in the 'reality' of the story and the world of movies. The plot involves another mystery about who is perpetrating a murderous rampage, and at this point in the trilogy we've been introduced to so many characters with so many conflicting personality traits that there is indeed a fair amount of suspense about the identity of the killer. In the end, Craven and Kruger come up with an unpredictable and arbitrary solution, but hey, at least we're not bored, as we were in "Scream 2". That sequel made a bad mistake in thinking it was a real horror movie, and ditching the humour.
"Scream 3" is generally easy to watch, with colourful, sexy visuals, and although its form of parody is becoming old hat, there is enough successful ironic chatter to get us giggling. As I've suggested, it's better than "Scream 2". But somehow it doesn't work well enough to recommend. The idea has been stretched too far. They should have made one movie, and called it quits.
My biggest concern is that a lot of the violence is excessive for a lighthearted flick. Every time a knife is pulled out, for example, there is a disgusting metallic 'zing!' on the sound track, and a bright gleam on the screen. People get slaughtered in cruel, not amusing, ways. Unnecessary. Sick.
COPYRIGHT(c) 2000 Ian Waldron-Mantgani Please visit, and encourage others to visit, the UK Critic's website, which is located at http://members.aol.com/ukcritic
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