Scream 3 (2000)

Plot: Young stars and starlets are being stalked and killed by Ghostface in Hollywood as Stab 3 is being shot.

Review:
What an odd "conclusion" to a trilogy. I like it and I don't think it is the shite everyone makes it out to be. I actually enjoy it, but I still prefer the first two. I like the new ideas brought up and the Hollywood setting was VERY clever. The sets were put to good use and to see the Woodsboro set was plain fun times. Jennifer Jolie is a fun new character and Gale and Sidney was great too see. BUT...the suspense is pretty much lacking and this film's first priority was comedy before the scares. BAD IDEA! While the first two films were witty, it always went for the scares first. I’m a fan of less comedy in my horror films. For me the comedy worked in Scream and Scream 2 because it was more wittiness than actual comedy…although Parker Posey was hilarious as Jennifer. Most of the other characters sadly had victim on their forehead and Sidney was mostly absent – another strike! She is the heart in my opinion of this series. Even Dewey is starting to get old by this film. I found him annoying in Scream 3. They should have left him dead in Scream 2…I personally think.
On another bad note the deaths were bloodless and boring as well. While the first two films weren’t overly gory, the death scenes were still well done and brutal as fuck. In this film there were no truly interesting deaths, although one character is killed by a house explosion. That was a cool scene.
But in good news, Wes still has a good eye and the inclusion of Sidney's mom brought the films full circle. Even with the lack of suspense and tension, Wes still was able to craft a good-looking film. Some of the chase scenes were awesome and while the characters were pretty mediocre, the acting was pretty strong from all. We even get a young Emily Mortimer! I love that actress! I wish they did more with her character (which I heard they were going too but they ended up having to cut it out).
The conclusion is better than the second film’s. It almost felt like a boxing match and Sid's fight against the killer was rather brutal. My only complaint with the ending is that the reveal of the killer (while MUCH better than Scream 2) is a bit convoluted. It almost felt like a soap opera type ordeal.
Overall, I still enjoy this series. It definitely isn’t as good as Scream or Scream 2 in my opinion, but I still enjoy this supposed-conclusion to the series. The film is at it’s strongest when Sidney, Gale, and Dewey are together, even if I do find Dewey annoying in this film. The score still works, and even the cops on the investigation case was pretty cool in my opinion. I like the implied romance between Sidney and one of the detectives. It was like a small light in Sidney’s sad life. Gale and Dewey still have good chemistry and there are some nice in-jokes that are very clever in this film. My favorite would have to do with the one-and-only Carrie Fisher. Overall, I enjoy this film. I don’t think it is the disaster many people believe it is…but it still could have been much better than just okay.

Verdict: 6/10