#screammarathon

Scream 3. When it stumbles, it stumbles. But when it works, it goddamn WORKS.

Starting off with the bad, I hate how they had Dewey and Gale go through the 'will or won't they' story AGAIN. I thought 2 had settled it.

The opening felt too rushed. The original and 2 took their time building up the suspense. This one rushed in and just felt cheap.

Suddenly, Randy has a sister. Good foreshadowing for the GF reveal, but still.

What happened to the costume department in this film? I know Gale's bangs have been talked about to death, but Milton was supposed to be a bigwig in a large film company. Why was he dressed like he had just rolled out of bed with a bad hangover?

It was good that the film used the voice changer to add paranoia about who was actually on the other side of the phone, but it came way too late.

All in all, this movie felt a lot more cartoonish than the previous 2, especially in the fax scene and the third act.

And now for the good parts.

The mystery was genuinely intriguing. Piecing together clues about Maureen's past.

There were some very scary and eerie moments: Sidney's nightmare about her mother and finding the film set of her house really stand out. Echoes of past conversations, Ghostface using Muareen's voice, going back to Woodsboro without actually having to go back there. And Milton talking about Maureen was chilling in a unique way you don't usually see in Scream.

Killing off Cotton was a great way to start the (at the time) final film.

Hollywood is a natural next step, considering the meta aspect. And I do like that they use the setting: showing films being made, the darker side of the business. Actresses having to sleep with directors to get roles was constantly brought up, tforeshadowing what happened to Maureen. Again, the mystery angle in this film is very strong.

This is also the first film in the series where the legacy trio felt like a trio. In the original and 2, they were mostly with other people, never really being together as a group. They all had relationships with each other, but they never really felt like a trio. But here, they feel like a group of friends who understand each other in ways no one else can.

It was nice to see Randy again. Forced, but nice. His video brought a sense of foreboding to the narrative.

If this had been the series' final ending, I'd be satisfied. The final fight against the director of Ghostface is emotionally charged; Dewey and Gale get married, and Sidney finds closure and has a friend circle around her again (Dewey, Gale and Mark).

Now I want to talk about Roman Bridger. The director of Ghostface. I like him; his working alone (Angelina being an accomplice is just a theory) really adds to his threat level, and his existence as Sidney's long-lost sibling born when their mother was raped by a director is foreshadowed a lot throughout the movie. Scott Foley does a great job of conveying Roman's anger and fury, and this Ghostface has one of the best GF lines in the series: "It was a simple game, Cotton."

My main problem is that Sidney never meets him before the unmasking, so it comes across as less 'oh my God' and more 'who the hell are you?'. Couldn't they have written Sidney watching Roman on TV, advertising the upcoming Stab 3? Or they meet on the Stab film set? Just something.

I would have preferred it if Roman died after holding hands with Sidney. No last-second scare. It was a really poignant moment: the man responsible for all this death and suffering, realising that it didn't have to be this way, that he and Sidney could have been friends in another life. It would have underlined the pointlessness of it all.

Regarding ranking, I can't justify putting 3 above 2. But I also can't put it below it either because, again, when this film works, it WORKS.

Scream (1996)

Scream 2/Scream 3

Though this feels like an opinion that could change.

Hey, didn't I start a franchise rewatch... almost two years ago? What have I been doing?

Well, with Scream 7 almost here, I might as well finish it.

So, Scream 2... I'm going to be honest, I remember it being better. I did try to watch it a few times before, but I never got past half an hour. And I didn't understand why until my latest attempt: there wasn't the atmosphere of fear that the first movie had.

In the original, Casey and Steve's murder hung over the movie, particularly the first third. There were police at the school, news vans, counselling was being offered, and even a curfew was put in place. 2 was missing that; Phil and Maureen's deaths didn't seem to carry the same weight. They were mentioned, but there was no real lasting impact. That might have been a commentary on how the murder of two black students wouldn't get the same attention as the deaths of two white teenagers. But even after Cici's death, the general population still didn't seem on edge. No students left campus except Sidney and Hallie (at the film's climax, and we knew they weren't getting to safety); Joel left as well, but that's only three people shown leaving. Everyone outside the main cast was carrying on like business as normal - Derek's fraternity brothers creeping around at the climax did not send the message of 'a killer is running around, we should be careful'. It took away from the fear that Ghostface is supposed to inspire.

I suppose Stu hosting a party at his house also didn't properly represent that fear (before the reveal). But at least Dewey was there to provide some police oversight.

Also, I don't like Windsor College as a setting compared to Woodsboro. I understand why they did, and I do like how they showed or told us what all the characters were doing there: Mickey and Randy studying films, Sidney studying drama, Hallie studying psychology, and Derek studying medicine. And there were sororities and fraternities to give the college life. I just prefer small towns as horror settings.

I also wanted to talk about Cotton Weary. I feel like I lean more on his side than Sidney's. Did he cross a line by getting very creepy and grabbing her arm? Yes. Do I think Sidney owed him more than just an 'I'm sorry'? Also yes. I didn't like Sid when she said they should just move on. Cotton spent a year on death row for rape and murder. I can understand him wanting to spread the word of his innocence as much as possible.

Now for the parts I liked.

2 feels like a natural continuation of the story started in 1. We get to see the mother whom Billy was so torn up over losing; the meta commentary flows nicely into sequels (even if it didn't feel quite as relevant to the film's events), and Gale and Dewey's relationship evolves into something real that culminates in Gale ignoring the chance to cover the murder spree ending to focus on Dewey recovering. I actually like to think of 1 and 2 as two parts of the same story; you really can't have one without the other.

Killing off Randy, bold. Definitely showed the film had teeth.

The ending didn't feel as abrupt as 1's. Sidney walking off alone as music plays provides a nice, bittersweet touch: she's alive, and the media are leaving her alone, but she's lost so many friends that it still feels like she lost.

And this film has the BEST Ghostface in the series: Mickey. Timothy Olyphant didn't really have a great presence before his unmasking, but once he did, he blew it out of the park. And he's the only Ghostface so far who wanted to get caught. I love that, in hindsight, it gives his character a sense of fearlessness that helps me accept that he was willing to risk the movie theatre plan. Even if he gets caught, it wouldn't matter because that's part of his plan anyway. I wish more Ghostfaces didn't care if they got caught or not.

As for ranking, I originally had 2 above the original. But now I've realised that was mostly because of Mickey, and upon rewatch, it's not enough.

Scream

Scream 2

I've also only seen the first season of the show, but since it's gone from Netflix and I can't find it anywhere else, I'm out of luck on that front.

Right now, my current ranking is:

Scream 2

Scream

Scream (2022) (/Scream: Season 1)

Scream VI

The Scream that started it all... I like it. I did want a higher body count in the third act, but I wouldn't want them to just kill off a bunch of nameless extras to pad things out (cough, cough, Scream VI, cough) and introducing other characters would have taken time away from the pre-existing ones.

I really liked the characters who were killed off: Tatum, Kenny, and Arthur Himbry. Tatum was a great friend to Sidney, Kenny seemed like a decent guy who was just working with Gale, and Himbry was a bit harsh but, come on, he was being harsh on the right people. They all had the right amount of likeability that made me want to see more and feel sad when they were killed, but not in a 'they killed off that character, I hate this now' way.

Casey and Steve were fine, I don't really think about them, their characters did their job and the cold open set the tone for the series.

I like to believe that Billy killed Casey, and that he was a Ghostface chasing Sidney at some point during the climax (maybe the one who appears after Dewey is stabbed, and then when that GF vanishes, that's Billy sneaking back into the house to surprise Sidney). I want to think this because what's the point of making Billy the mastermind if Stu gets all the cool costume scenes?

The bathroom scene and Ghostface stalking Sidney and Tatum throughout the town, I believe those were just pranksters. The film introduced the concept and that explanation works so I'm going with that. The bathroom Ghostface didn't have a knife, and the stalking scenes were just too risky for Billy and Stu to attempt.

I really like Woodsboro as a setting. Small towns are my favourite horror settings and it is a shame that the sequels moved away from it. There were a lot of characters they could have explored - like Sheriff Burke. It's a shame he disappeared halfway through the film - he could have shown up in the climax, adding suspicion to his character before he is killed by Ghostface.

Part of me still thinks that the Ghostface mask looks a little goofy and not threatening. But it's still an iconic look... even if I can't take the robe seriously when it looks like someone sprinkled glitter over the sleeves.

Probably my least favourite part of the film is the ending. I don't like how abrupt it is, it feels like they're about to cut to another aftermath scene but instead, the credits start rolling.

Randy is in the film a lot less than I remember.

So, current ranking: