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"Scream 3" : My 25th Favorite Horror Movie

Countdowns of favorite scary movies are a staple of Horrorbid.com, and one that I find is almost always worth a read. In my time here, I've read and enjoyed many lists of what are, in the opinions of my fellow Bidites, the best or worst horror flicks of all time. Sometimes I've thought the choices were right on target, other times I've pasonately disagreed, but I have always come away from these articles inspired to come up with a somewhat official list of my own, personal favorite horror films. After much deliberation, I have finalized my selections and compiled a list counting backwards from 25 - 1. I hope to add a new entry in this series at least once a week, until all 25 of my choices have been given the attention I feel they deserve. Without further ado, I present my 25th favorite horror movie of all time : I can just hear the uproar this choice could bring about in the minds of this film's numerous detractors. I've heard all the complaints about it, and I even think some of them have merit. The scene where the condo gets blown up goes way over the top, the camera work makes Courtney Cox look somewhat unhealthy in about half of her scenes, the evil brother thing has been done before, and the movie is a bit heavy on cameos to boot. Those factors take enough points away from the film to put it at the tail end of this list, but in my book, this chapter in the Scream saga brought enough innovation and liveliness to the table for me to still conder it an all-time favorite. Admittedly, I am a bigger fan of the entire series than a lot of people. For me to really dislike a Scream

movie, one of two things would have to occur: I'd have to feel that character assasnation was performed on dney, Dewey, or Gale, or the premise would have to be defied to such a degree that Ghostface is an unkillable zombie who smashes his victims with a cartoon mallet. Whatever faults Scream 3 may have, it is in no way untrue to its characters and Ghostface is ultimately only human, as much as he tries to make everyone think otherwise.

Some of the new cast additions were memorable to me as well, in particular Jenny McCarthy in her small role as Sarah Darling, Emily Mortimer as the seemingly virtuous and doe-eyed Angelina Tyler, Scott Foley as Roman Bridger and especially Parker Posey as Jennifer Jolie. I'm aware that some found this character annoying, but in my opinion, she was supposed to be a pain in the ass. For me, Jennifer was the stand-out new character of the film, played by an actress with impeccable comedic timing, who fleshed her out into a creation that is flaky and deliberately dramatic, but ultimately well-meaning, brave and even resourceful. She helps Gale and Dewey uncover vital information, and in the process, snags some of the best lines in any of the Scream films. The rivalry between Posey and Cox as "fake" Gale and "real" Gale was entertaining for me, and very in keeping with the Scream formula.

There were other elements that broke the rules to some extent: there turns out to only be 1 killer this time around, and he can steal anyone's voice that he's heard, rather than mply being able to modulate himself to sound like Ghostface. The visage of dney's dead mom was used against her to a greater extent than ever before, in the form of nightmares, voices on the phone, videotapes and the recreated scene of her murder. In my opinion, these were daring moves that honored what Scream is supposed to be about even while subverting our expectations. A Scream

film should not just be about referential dialogue spliced with a killing spree that unfolds in all the same ways, with the exact same gimmicks, each time. It should surprise us with new innovations each time around. Certain aspects that we take for granted should be turned on their heads. Everyone says they want surprises in their sequels, in this or any series, yet most people also seem to want to have pre-approval rights for every ngle one of them. Not really how surprises work, people. I liked the upgraded Ghostface of Scream 3, but even others who didn't should give the movie credit for trying something different without changing Ghostface's ultimate goals.

The two most important aspects that redeem Scream 3 for me, and sometimes compel me to defend it, is that it has moments that are at least as scary, bloody and brutal as anything else in the series, and dney Prescott still kicks ass even while being put through the ringer (admittedly, with a bit less screen time in this chapter). The interaction between Neve Campbell as dney and Scott Foley as Roman Bridger provided one final, pleasant surprise for me, once Roman was unmasked. These actors are better in this scene than anyone gives them credit for. Although the revelation that the two are ster and brother is hardly original and doesn't happen until the end, Campbell and Foley make the absolute most of it, quickly establishing a mutually antagonistic rapport that is authentic to how many real blings actually act, even if it doesn't (usually) end with trying to kill each other. I have hardly ever screamed at anyone except my blings in a milar fashion to the way dney and Roman address each other here. When Roman finally attacks, the confrontation is vicious and well-crafted, with tight camera shots that enhance the feeling that dney is trapped, and this is a fight to the death. The fact that the actors could do so much with so little time on screen together is a testament to their abilities, as well as those of director Wes Craven, who is always at his best when helming these films.It makes sense that Scream movies get deconstructed to a greater degree than many other films. After all, deconstruction is a big part of what they're about. However, I feel that many people fall into the trap of only deconstructing the negative aspects of this series, and this chapter in particular, without focung enough on what was done well. Don't get me wrong, Scream 3

is a movie that could have been better in some ways. I guess, for me, a Scream movie that could be better is still several cuts above most other horror movies.

One of the problems I had with Scream 3 was the opening....

While I actually liked the idea that Cotton was killed off, his whole characterization was off. He was such a dick in it and I thought after Scream 2, you would think they would make him the same likeable guy although I did appreciate that he didnt give away dneys whereabouts.

The other problem I had with it is of course the final reveal and the climax of it. The whole "Shoot him in the head!" thing was so laughably bad!

Good write up though, I think it's cool this film has some fans in their own right. My opinion is that it's definitely the weakest of the series.