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When Scream (1996) was released I was around 9-10 years old. When Scream 2 (1997) was released I was about 10-11 years old. So when this film was released, I was 13 and 14 years old.
Now with this fact, I should have been in my early junior high school age, with a fresher memory of Scream 3 than Scream and Scream 2 , which at that time I was much younger and still had fun playing the SEGA Mega Drive console .
But ironically, it’s actually my memories with Scream and Scream 2 which are still imprinted until my age, which of course is much older. With this statement, we can conclude that the Scream 3 film is much worse in quality than the previous 2 films.
Because in general, a good film will continue to carry in our minds even when we may be 80-90 years old. On the other hand, if the film doesn’t leave an impression, maybe we’ve watched it 3-4 times and need to watch it again and again, then fix it if the film isn’t okay.
And once again, Scream 3 unfortunately falls into the category of films that are less than okay from the entire film franchise so far. Why is that so? Just take a look at the following Scream 3 review .
Sidney VS Ghostface III
Okay, before we find out why this third film is the weakest so far, it’s a good idea to re-discuss the plot of Scream 3 first .
So basically this third film still focuses on the main premise of the entire film aka, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) VS Ghostface . And in this third film, he has moved from Woodsboro and used a new name.
Oh yes, in this new home he lives with his pet dog and father, Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht), and has also worked as a counselor for women who are having problems or severe trauma as Sidney has experienced in recent years.
His new home security system and phone number are also very private. Only a few of his trusted friends know his number, including our favorite Woodsboro police deputy, Dewey Riley (David Arquette).
Still Can’t Escape Ghostface
But despite taking these maximum precautions, in the end the new Ghostface was able to find him. Yes, in other words, somehow this killer ghost mask was able to just get Sidney’s new home phone number.
As a result because of that, Sidney’s life was tense again. The new Ghostfce also started killing all the actors involved in the film Stab 3 as well as the “former suspect” of the first two films, Cotton Weary (Live Schreiber).
Now uniquely, every time he kills his victims, this new ghostaface always leaves an old photo of Sidney’s late mother, Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee). Seeing this fact, Sydney. Dewey, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and police detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey), team up to stop this third Ghostface terror.
Nothing More Than Just Popcorn Movies
Now, after rereading the plot of the story, let’s start listening to the reasons why Scream 3 is a bit disappointing.
The first of this film from the opening scene which shows the “process” of killing Weary by the new Ghostface until before Sidney’s reveal and confrontation with his villain , everything feels like a Popcorn movie ( Popcorn Flick ).
I mean here, Scream 3 really looks like a movie just to have fun . Anyway, it’s a bit lacking to emphasize the character side and the depth of the story. Indeed, the emphasis in both aspects is still there. But, it’s not as deep as the first two films.
This may also be because at this third point, we all already know the whole formula for this slasher horror franchise by Kevin Williamson. And by the way Williamson, he is also a factor in why Scream 3 is becoming less exciting.
Less Tense and Not Young Soul
Specifically, Williamson is absent in this film. So the task of writing the script was given to a new scriptwriter named Ehren Kruger ( The Ring, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ). And yes, the script looks and feels really different.
In the hands of Kruger, Scream 3 puts more emphasis on the dramatic aspect and focuses on the characters, especially Sidney. Actually, it’s not wrong either. But it’s a Scream movie . Which, the horror aspect should stand out more.
Honestly, when I watched this, it was like watching the NCIS series or other police mystery series. And what really bothered me the most, was the loss of his youthful look and feel . It’s true that in this third film, Sidney doesn’t go to school and college anymore, but that doesn’t mean the youthful impression is gone, right?
After all, hasn’t Scream ‘s target audience all along been young people? Why has this aspect been omitted?
Fortunately, through this Scream 3 review , I say, all of this was still saved by Craven, who again succeeded in proving his figure as a super capable director. If only the Craven figure was changed too, I guarantee Scream 3 would be even more destroyed.
Columbine High School Massacre
But it seems we can’t blame Kruger 100% either. Because it is possible that the script was also influenced by the horrific real-world events that shocked the United States at that time.
Specifically, the incident was the massacre of all high school students in Columbine, Colorado, USA. Maybe if you were a pre-teen or teenager in 1999, you would still remember this event. Because at that time, this event was reported around the world.
So this incident occurred on April 20, 1999. The perpetrators were 2 12th graders at the same high school, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Harris and Klebold that afternoon fired their guns inside his school premises.
