The “Scream” Trilogy
**The following review has been revised from my review of the “Scream” trilogy after the release of “Scream 3” back in 2000. Enjoy!**
Back in December of 1996, Miramax off-shoot Dimension Films released “Scream,” which had a horror veteran in “Nightmare on Elm Street” creator Wes Craven as director and a screenwriter with little– or no –credits to his name in Kevin Williamson.
The result was one of the most stunning upsets Hollywood had seen in years in theaters as “Scream” started its original theatrical run slow, and gradually climbed to the head of the pack, and eventually ended up with $100 million at the box-office; a Best Movie award at the MTV Movie Awards; as well as starting the “teen movie” fad that continued through “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and the “American Pie” series.
Why was this film, with a then-minor star in Neve Campbell and “Friends’s” Courtney Cox in a bitchy supporting role, a success years after the teen slasher genre (which started in 1978 with John Carpenter’s “Halloween” and continued with the “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare” franchises throughout the ’80s) had appeared to have been dried up? The best guess is that audiences could see that “Scream” could laugh at itself…in other words, it had a intentional sense of humor. The characters had grown up on these horror movies, and therefore knew the rules of the genre. Williamson has them follow the rules anyway, but for the purpose of satirizing the genre and showing people just how lame those films were. “Scream” also didn’t dumb down the characters or the structure of the plot– Williamson wrote smart, entertaining characters into a fresh horror story infused with sarcastic wit; a genuine sense of terror and suspense, and clever twists that managed to keep the audience guessing until the end. It also helped that the film had a director as skilled as Craven at the helm; his original “Nightmare” and his “New Nightmare” in 1994 were the best films of that series.
The third chapter in the “Scream” series opened in February 2000, over two years after Craven and Williamson made the rare horror sequel to rate with the original in 1997. To get the full story of the trilogy, its best to just watch the films; watching them now reveals just as much fun and fright as was had in their original release. But to sum up: Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who in the first time was in high school and dealing with the brutal death of her mother the year before, was being stalked by a murderer wearing a ghost-faced Halloween costume and whom had too much of a fondness for scary movies (although in “Scream 3” we found out a greater motivation that was more sinister than that). In “Scream 2,” Sidney is seen in college when the movie “Stab”– based on a book on the original Ghost Face murders by reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) –is released in theaters. More murders ensue, as a killer appears to have been influenced by “Stab” to continue tormenting Sidney.
“Scream 3” followed along some of the same narratives lines as “Scream 2,” although this time showing the survivors of the first two films– Sidney, Gale, former Deputy (and on-off Gale love interest) Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Cotton Weary (Liev Schriber) –are in Hollywood rather than Woodsboro, where the original film took place. Gale is still reporting; Cotton (who was originally convicted in the death of Sidney’s mother) is now a controversial talk show host; Sidney, still traumatized by the events in the first two films, is secluded and a live-in employee of a crisis hotline for women; and Dewey is now a technical consultant for “Stab 3,” which takes place after the events in “Scream 2” (which was, of course, the basis for “Stab 2”). Well, suffice it to say, production on the latest “Stab” thriller isn’t going so well, with stars being killed and anyone with their hands on the script, including director Roman (Scott Foley) and the film’s producer played by Lance Henriksen, as a suspect (that goes for the cop on the case, played by Patrick Dempsey, as well). Meanwhile, Sidney finds herself being tormented by this latest killer, which forces her out of seclusion.
Part of the fun of the “Scream” films was always its self-aware attitude and sly movie references, and “Scream 3” was no exception. It was entertaining to watch Gale, Dewey, and Sidney interact with their on-screen counterparts (especially Gale and Jennifer Jolie, played by Parker Posey in a dead-on impression of Cox as Gale– this interaction leads to the film’s biggest laughs), and all of the characters manage to include some wink-wink humor into the standard slasher situations when they get into them. There were also a couple of smartly-placed cameos that add to the film’s sly collection of movie references (one you’ll definitely; the other you’ll have to have seen Kevin Smith’s films for). If there was one downfall to “Scream 3,” though, it was that not all of the references retain the zing they had in the first two films. In that way, the fault falls on the script by Ehren Krueger (“The Ring,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”), which does a great job with the standard slasher stuff, but doesn’t quite have the sarcastic bite of the first two films.
But it wasn’t just the satirical jabs at the genre that made the first two films instant classics of the genre. The first “Scream” (1996; A+) began with a brilliant sequence where the killer calls a young woman (played by Drew Barrymore, in a cameo that jump-started her career after years of personal issues) who is getting ready to watch a movie with her boyfriend. It’s a set piece that’s one of the best in horror movie history as it builds and releases the tension with a master’s touch for horror. Thankfully, Craven has more up his sleeve than just a great intro; the movie wouldn’t endure otherwise. There’s the first sequence with the killer harassing Sidney, where Sidney points out everything that makes slasher films so boring most of the time; the sequence at school with the principal (Henry Winkler) after hours; and the climax of the film, where all of the characters come together for a bloody and wickedly funny finale. Throughout the film, however, Craven and Williamson prove themselves adept at setting up possible scenarios and mixing black comedy with genuine tension. Having a terrific cast that includes Rose McGowen as Sid’s best friend; Cox and Arquette, who have one of the best love-hate relationships in the movies; Skeet Ulrich as Sid’s boyfriend Billy; Matthew Lillard as the goofy and terrifying schoolmate Stu; and a superb score by Marco Beltrami that keeps the drama going even when the script is making us laugh.
“Scream 2” (1997; A) begins in a way that borders on self-parody before hitting its stride. The movie begins with…a movie premiere. A new book by Gale Weathers has been turned into the horror movie “Stab.” In the theater, a black couple (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett) is murdered as the movie rolls, bringing the movie to an thrilling start as we reunite with Sidney and Randy at college. (FYI: The college scenes were filmed at Atlanta’s Agnus Scott; my mother actually got in the movie as an extra during the lunchroom scene.) It’s not long before Dewey, Gale, and Cotton are in town as well, and we have a new set of suspects (such as Randy’s film school cohorts and Sidney’s new boyfriend, played by Jerry O’Connell) and a new set of victims (including Cici, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar who plays the victim as well as she did Buffy). Craven and Williamson have basically made a sequel with the skill and originality of a franchise’s first film– to say that’s rare for a horror franchise is putting it lightly. Of course, by the time Craven had gotten to “Scream” he had finally returned to horror form with “New Nightmare,” the first time in which he rewrote the rules of what horror sequels could and couldn’t do. It’s been a lot of years since I last watched “Scream 2”; I had forgotten how good the movie is on every level. I’m not sure that I’d say the film surpasses the original, but it comes closer than just about any horror film ever has.
Watching “Scream 3” (2000; B+) for the first time in eleven years, it goes without saying that I forgot a lot about the film. Wow, Emily Mortimer, from “Lars and the Real Girl” and “Shutter Island,” played the actress whose character was based on Sidney? And Patrick Warburton played Jennifer Jolie’s security guard? And Carrie Fisher had a cameo? Yes, I forgot a lot about this film. What I didn’t forget is how satisfying a conclusion it was for this trilogy. The story retains its interest and wraps up the previous story threads nicely. Craven is at the top of his game (especially in a brilliantly conceived chase sequence on the set of “Scream 3” which fans of the first two will like); the cast (especially Cox, Arquette, and Campbell) does a fine job with the script; and the behind-the-scene talents– from Beltrami; cinematographer Peter Deming (who shot “Scream 2” as well, in addition to some of Sam Raimi’s horror films); and editor Patrick Lussier (who would go on to direct “My Bloody Valentine 3D” and “Drive Angry 3D”) –who bring their considerable gifts to the show.
Back in 2000, I compared the “Scream” trilogy to two other iconic trilogies– “Star Wars” and “The Godfather” –in its legacy among horror films. That still holds true, if only because the overall quality of the “Scream” films trumps other franchises. What sets it apart? I think the main thing is the continuity of having so many characters return film after film. True, “Nightmare on Elm Street’s” Nancy returned in a couple of other films in that series (and Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode from “Halloween” came back in a couple of the movies), but what Craven and Williamson (and Krueger) have done with this franchise is give us regular characters that we come to care about and fear for whenever Ghost Face seems to arrive.
It’s here where Neve Campbell deserves due credit for her– in lack of a better word –great portrayal of Sidney. While Williamson obviously knew what he was doing in writing the character, it’s Campbell that brings her to life and provides the emotional anchor that keeps the series from sinking like the pile of idiotically written hack jobs that came to define ’80s slasher movies. Sidney’s fragile emotionally to be sure, but she can also muster up great emotional and physical strength when necessary, as well as be very resourceful. She isn’t the formulaic “big-breasted girl who always runs up the stairs when she should be running out the front door” that always gets killed in these films. She’s a smart, beautiful, and strong woman that inspires friendship and is usually seen in more mature films…or action films like “The Terminator” or “Alien” franchises.
“Scream” also deserves credit for knowing the rules of movie trilogies, courtesy of Randy (Jamie Kennedy), the movie geek/guru who was sadly killed in “Scream 2,” but was resurrected via self made video in “3” to explain to our heroes the rules of a trilogy. One of those rules? There’s always an unexpected secret from the past that needs revealing. Watching “Scream 3” again, that secret deepened the mythology of the series and brought things full circle for our heroine, even though it does seem like a flimsy rationale for one more movie. But that being said, it also makes me more intrigued to see what Craven and Williamson have up their sleeves for “Scream 4.”
