Scream 3 (2000) Review

Time: 117 Minutes
Age Rating: Horror scenes
Cast:
David Arquette as Dewey Riley
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
Patrick Dempsey as Mark Kincaid
Scott Foley as Roman Bridger
Lance Henriksen as John Milton
Matt Keeslar as Tom Prinze
Jenny McCarthy as Sarah Darling
Emily Mortimer as Angelina Tyler
Parker Posey as Jennifer Jolie
Deon Richmond as Tyson Fox
Kelly Rutherford as Christine
Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary
Patrick Warburton as Steven Stone
Director: Wes Craven

As bodies begin dropping around the set of STAB 3, a movie sequel based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings, Sidney and other survivors are once again drawn into a game of horror movie mayhem.

Scream 3 is widely regarded as the worst instalment in the franchise, however in terms of worst entries in horror franchises, Scream 3 is better than most. There are definitely some issues, but I had a lot of fun with it.

For a first in the series, Ethan Kreuger is writing the script instead of Kevin Williamson, and you really do feel his absence. The meta commentary is a little mixed, it’s not as smart as the last couple of movies. It takes on certain things like the abusive system and politics of Hollywood. The Stab movies were introduced in Scream 2 but I think Scream 3 utilizes them a lot better in the plot given that it’s set in Hollywood. However, sometimes the commentary is a bit too on the nose and silly at points. There is also a certain subplot that has either aged well or aged poorly in the movie, considering that Scream 3 is a Harvey Weinstein movie. At the very least, it makes the plotline a little more awkward and uncomfortable now. The plot is still entertaining and has good humour, even if they lean into that a little too much at times. The main trio with Sidney, Gale and Dewey as usual were the highlights and I liked how it continued their stories. However the movie does lack the wittiness and cleverness of the movies that came before, and is a very generic affair. It falls into the tropes that it tries to parody, which is never a good sign. There are some questionable story decisions too, particularly with some reveals at the end of the film. However the biggest criticism I have is for a particular aspect that bugged me for the whole film. I can buy that each Ghostface wears the same costume, mask and voice changer that gives them the voice of Roger L. Jackson. However, this Ghostface also has another magical voice changer that makes them sound like literally any character that they want, and I really didn’t like that. With all that being said, I really like how Scream 3 ended the movie with its last scene.

There are some solid performances and enjoyable characters. The main trio in Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette deliver as always, Gale and Dewey are front and center, but I also think this movie really rounds out Sidney as a character too. As for the newcomers, they weren’t really the best, just sort of okay. However, Parker Posey was one of the highlights of the whole movie, playing an actor who was cast as a fictional version of Gale in the newest installment of the Stab franchise.

Wes Craven directs this well, though in terms of direction and technical elements, Scream 3 is probably the worst in the franchise. There are some good set pieces, even if they aren’t on the level of the first two movies. But really, there weren’t many standout scenes, and none of them really bordered on being scary or suspenseful. The music is reliable as ever, with Marco Beltrami again doing well with the score. 

So unsurprisingly, Scream 3 is the worst of the franchise but is still pretty decent. While the meta commentary was very hit or miss and some of the story decisions didn’t work out, the cast and some of the set pieces were solid, and I still enjoyed watching it. Plus it ended on a note that would’ve been a fitting conclusion for the franchise if they didn’t continue it nearly a decade later. At the very least, there’s some enough good stuff here to make it worth watching.

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Scream (1996) Review

Time: 111 Minutes
Age Rating: Violence and offensive language
Cast:
David Arquette as Dewey Riley
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
Matthew Lillard as Stu Macher
Rose McGowan as Tatum Riley
Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis
Jamie Kennedy as Randy Meeks
W. Earl Brown as Kenny Jones
Joseph Whipp as Sheriff Burke
Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary
Drew Barrymore as Casey Becker
Director: Wes Craven

A year after Sidney’s mom is murdered, more murders start to occur. She begins to suspect if these murders are related and tries to find the killer as everyone seems to be a suspect.

I meant to revisit the Scream movies before the 5^th film released in 2022, but I just never got around to it. Thankfully, Scream VI would be releasing the following year, giving the opportunity (and excuse) to come back to the iconic horror franchise. I’m glad to say that the original still holds up.

Scream was a game changer for the slasher genre and the horror genre on the whole, and a big part of that came from Kevin Williamson’s clever script. It’s a darkly funny satire and self-aware deconstruction of the slasher sub genre, which has held up well over the years. It is very meta but avoids bordering on irritating, it subverts the tropes, yet embraces them. It certainly helps that it is made by smart people who have an actual appreciation for horror. Scream balances all the elements quite well, there is some effective comedy and meta satire, but it still works as a great slasher movie in its own right. The plot is fairly straightforward, but it’s not generic by any means. Right from the famous opening sequence it has your attention, and while the twists may be somewhat predictable on repeat viewings, on the first viewing they are really effective.

While much of the characterisation is pretty standard as far as slashers go, the acting is great from everyone, with Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard all delivering on their parts. Drew Barrymore is also memorable in her short screentime.

Wes Craven is already well versed in the horror genre with films like Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes, so he was perfect for a movie like this, and this is one of his best works. As much as the movie serves as a satire on horror movies, it also succeeds as a horror movie itself. There are some great slasher sequences, a standout being the iconic opening scene with Drew Barrymore. The killer action is brutal, and it delivers on the violent deaths that you’d expect from a slasher movie, and especially one from Craven. An aspect that I particularly enjoy in all the Scream movies is that the killer Ghostface isn’t the typical inhuman Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees level of horror killer. They are very human, and as such are a bit of a klutz, constantly tripping over, falling into things, and even getting smacked by the person they are chasing. At the same time, they remain somewhat intimidating and the danger still feels real. There’s also a good use of music, and Marco Beltrami’s score is particularly fitting.

It’s easy to see how and why Scream was so influential to the horror genre, leading to so many copycats with a wide range of success. However, none of them could achieve what the original film did back in 1996. On its own, Scream serves as both a dark meta comedy on horror movies, and a simple yet effective slasher film. It is well worth watching if you’re a fan of horror movies, especially slashers.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Time: 115 Minutes
Age Rating: Coarse language
Cast:
Henry Thomas as Elliot
Robert MacNaughton as Michael
Drew Barrymore as Gertie
Dee Wallace as Mary
Peter Coyote as Keys
Director: Steven Spielberg

A group of aliens visit earth and one of them is lost and left behind stranded on this planet. The alien soon finds a friend and in 10-year-old Elliot (Henry Thomas). While E.T. slowly gets acquainted with Elliot’s brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), his sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) as well as with Earth customs, members of the task force work day and night to track down the whereabouts of him. After being able to communicate with Elliot and the others, E.T. starts building an improvised device to send a message home for his folks to come and pick him up.

E.T. is often called one of the greatest movies of all time. Maybe for its time it was, but looking at it now, it doesn’t seem to have held up, at least for me. The film isn’t bad, it’s decently made; but its aging has created some flaws as well as revealing some flaws in the movie that were there to begin with. In my opinion, this isn’t among Spielberg’s best or the best movies that ever made.

The movie most of the time seems to focus on the relationship between E.T. and Elliot and while it wasn’t done badly; I didn’t really feel the connection between the two. As for how much emotion I felt, I didn’t really feel much when I watched it, even when I was 13 when I watched it for the first time I didn’t feel anything. Also I never really felt for any of the characters, none of them are unlikeable, they seem likable enough for a pass but I didn’t feel like we got to know them. Along with me not being attached to the characters, a lot of the scenes that had an impact on others didn’t make any impact on me for whatever reason; the bike scene is an example. Speaking of which (without spoiling anything), I am still wondering how E.T. managed to get those bikes to fly. This is also a problem, there are moments that just seem convenient that weren’t mentioned or explained previously. Another example is when (again I’m doing my best not to spoil anything) there is some deep connection between E.T. and Elliot but there is a point when something takes a toll on both of their conditions, which isn’t explained in the movie ever.

The acting was okay by everyone. A lot of children are the main characters and they are well acted enough, they weren’t great performances but in comparison to some child actors of today, they are much better. However none of the performances made an impression or me and none of them stood out.

This may just be a nitpick for me but I personally think that the filmmakers could have gone with a better design for E.T. I’m glad that it wasn’t of a small green alien (which a lot of representations of aliens are done like) but the look of E.T. really took me out of the movie; it looks like it came from the garbage compactor from Star Wars: A New Hope. The effects were good with the bike scene but there actually aren’t that many other moments with effects. The score for this by John Williams is pretty good but I wouldn’t say it is one of his best.

E.T. isn’t a movie that I particularly love. I just wasn’t that attached to the characters and I had no emotional connection with anything in the movie. Despite this, countless people have been impacted by this movie; maybe they saw it in a critical part of their childhood; I will say that younger audiences will probably like it more than older people. If you haven’t watched it already, I recommend checking it out; even to just have an opinion on it. But keep in mind there is a chance that you may not like it as much as other people.