Smart scares, jokes all in spooky fun for a fitting end to 'Scream' trilogy

By Erin Podolsky

Daily Arts Writer

Try, if you will, to ignore the clichés surrounding the third film in the "Scream" trilogy. This is not an easy task given that the movie gleefully prides itself on building up and, every once in a great while, tearing down the assumptions about genre and expectation that it trumpets through mouthpiece characters who apparently know all there is to know about horror movie patterns.

This all-knowingness is, of course, the basis of the "Scream" movies - in acknowledging all that came before, creators Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven allow for twice the satire while still managing to create a pretty scary atmosphere. Williamson hands over the writing reins to Ehren Kruger for "Scream 3," but the movie doesn't suffer a bit from losing the patron saint of the latter-day teen bon mot. There are endless bad horror genre jokes, as well as plenty of jewels for the faithful film geek (a great one-liner regarding "Vertigo" and "Psycho" proves Jenny McCarthy, of all people, to be quite the jiggly comedienne).

As the denizens of Woodsboro grow up and get out, so does the "Scream" series, first moving to Windsor college in the sequel and now going all the way to Hollywood in "3." The scope gets bigger and bigger each time out, and after the brief sequence involving "Stab" (the fictionalized version of "Scream") in "Scream 2" (stay with me, folks - the "Scream" kids were always a bit too smart for their own good, and adding another layer of unreality complicates things) it's only natural that "Scream 3" is devoted entirely to the making of a third "Stab" movie. It's not a bad move, either. When going the self-referential route, you either go whole hog or go home. The "Scream" franchise has been built on a foundation of indulgent gluttony, and "Scream 3" is no different.

The survivors of the previous movies are back as usual - not to mention a few of the dearly departed through the magic of modern technology. In fact, they're all back twice, because their fictional selves from the "Stab" series are on-hand to exercise their vocal chords and running skills. Courtney Cox is tantalizingly superficial as Gale Weathers and has several killer scenes with her real-life counterpart ("My lawyer liked that," she hisses after the real Gale decks her). As self-serving as the original Gale is, Parker Posey's performance as actress Jennifer Jolie goes one better in the bitch category.

Also on board for the final fright flight are Scott Foley as "Stab 3" director Roman Bridger, Patrick Dempsey as Detective Kincaide and Lance Henrikson as "Stab 3" producer John Milton (no relation to the author or Al Pacino's character in "The Devil's Advocate" - or is he?). The film boasts a slew of cameos that include Leia, Puddy and the one and only Weiner Dog. Even characters from other movie franchises make a brief appearance, but my lips are sealed as to who the daring duo is.

The smidgen of new plot (ignoring the old relationship issues always called up between Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) and the first iteration of Gale (Courteney Cox Arquette)) contained in the film has Bridger's "Stab 3" production put on the skids when members of his cast start turning up dead. I'd say more, but Miramax would come after me with a knife, a cloak and a leering mask. Personally, I like my entrails right where they are, thank you very much.

At times a little too smug and self-satisfied to be true, though, "Scream 3" loses steam in its final third, dropping biting humor in favor of bloodbath. But the first hour or so is well worth the price of admission, and there's much voyeuristic pleasure to be taken in the grisly deaths of those who die hard with a vengeance and the scrappy survivalists. "Scream 3" asks us to play the game we love to play: Are we smarter than the script? It taunts us with early expirations that seem patently obvious, but part of the contest is figuring out when to believe the stereotypes it espouses and when to realize our legs are being pulled. Trying to outsmart the savviest genre trilogy alive is better than sitting idly by while Freddy Krueger wreaks havoc on Elm Street.

That's the real reason the "Scream" movies are such fun. That's the real reason why "Scream 3" is as successful as its predecessors. The "Scream" movies keep getting smarter each time around. And so do we.

Courtesy of Dimension Films

'Oh my God, the killer really is Neve Campbell after all.' At the end, Gale and Dewey make a discovery of their own.