‘Scream’ – Ranking the Entries of the Killer Franchise
5 – Scream 3
Scream 3 is the only movie in the original trilogy that wasn’t written by Kevin Williamson. Instead, the script came from Ehren Kruger. While the script isn’t bad, it’s nowhere near as good or as inventive as the first two. Furthermore, Scream 3 uses one of the worst storytelling techniques normally seen in a threequel. It changes the twist of the first movie. In the third act, Sidney realises the killer is Roman Bridger – the director of the ill-fated Stab 3.
In itself, it doesn’t seem too bad but the knife is twisted when Roman turns out to be her half-brother. Before Sidney’s mother, Maureen met her father she went to Hollywood. While there, in true Hollywood fashion, she was abused by several executives at a party. She bore a child to one of them but gave him up.
It’s here Sidney learns Roman set everything up. He filmed Maureen, showing the footage of her sleeping with Hank Loomis to Billy Loomis. The movie retroactively changes it so Billy was manipulated into the killings. This takes away some of the agency of Billy’s motivation and turns him into merely a puppet. Considering Stu was Billy’s puppet it’s not good news for him either.
Scream 3 isn’t a terrible movie. It’s still funny and keeps you guessing the killer’s identity until the end. It also brings Parker Posey and Emily Mortimer into the franchise. Sadly, Emily Mortimer’s Angelina was mostly killed offscreen and there’s a reason for that.
The original script for the movie saw her as Roman’s accomplice. Unfortunately, some bigshot at the studio made them change it and created plotholes for how Roman killed everyone. Although, if you pay attention to Angelina’s death, it seems Wes Craven filmed it in a way we can never be too sure if she bit the bullet or not. After all, it’s not like a Ghostface to drag their victim away to never be seen again.
