Scream 3 (2000, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox)

As one of the film’s characters knowingly says, ‘sequels go on but in a trilogy, nobody’s safe. Even the hero can die in the final chapter’. Wes Craven’s wrap on the Scream series, where every horror movie cliché is lovingly parodied and even the characters know what not to do – then do it anyway – is as satisfying as the first two and even has the conceit of a film within a film (Craven used the same device in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare).

In Hollywood, Stab 3 is under production, loosely based on the events of the first two Scream films and Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey) is cast as TV journalist Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox Arquette). Also on set are Dwight Riley (David Arquette), now a security guard but still in love with Gale, Scott Foley as the film’s director, Dean Richmond as a smartass who knows all the conventions of horror movies (and has attended most as well) and Liev Schreiber as a talk show host with a past.

Missing is ‘Sid’ Prescott (Neve Campbell), who’s gone into hiding but when the murders start again and pictures of her mother are the only clues left, she realises it’s her duty to come to the set and act as bait for the killer who wants to make sure the film ends just as they want… With cameos from Carrie Fisher (who has a scabrously funny line about George Lucas and Star Wars ), Roger Corman and Kevin Smith, this is Hollywood enjoying itself in a slightly incestuous way but without detracting from the edge-of-seat tension of the original.

production details
USA | 116 minutes | 2000

Director: Wes Craven
Script: Kevin Williamson Ehren Kruger

cast
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
David Arquette as Dewey Riley
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
Jamie Kennedy as Randy Meeks
Roger L. Jackson as The Voice (voice)
Richmond Arquette as Student
Josh Pais as Wallace
Roger Corman as Studio Executive
Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
Jason Mewes as Jay
Heather Matarazzo as Martha Meeks
Carrie Fisher as Bianca Burnette