"Scream 3"

by Thom Bennett

Is a parody still a parody when it becomes a parody of itself? This is the type of thing you can sit and ponder as you impatiently wait for the end credits to roll in the atrocious "Scream 3".

The third (and hopefully last) chapter of the now played-out Scream series is an absolutely tedious film going experience. For all the ingenious genre bending that the first "Scream" (and to a certain extent "Scream 2") had to offer, this tired third installment falls flat on almost every count. It is, in essence, little more than the slasher flicks that the original film poked fun at so ingeniously.

Director Wes Craven’s penchant for overkill and tendency to go to the well too often has managed to subvert what was a giant artistic and career step in the right direction. The preeminent filmmaker of the horror genre in recent years, the man who brought us Freddie Kruger (again, too often), has fallen victim to the dreaded sequel bug that has made any attempt at legitimizing horror films a near impossibility.

Unless your idea of sheer terror hovers around being trapped in a dark theater and offering up two hours of your life to the Gods of sub-par cinema, "Scream 3" will instill in most a feeling of utter disappointment and boredom in lieu of fright. Could it be the absence of writer Kevin Williamson from the proceedings that causes the third installment to fail so miserably (his knack for clever film references and humor is very much missed), or is it just that after two films the ideas ran out? Whatever the case, the only thing scary about "Scream 3" is the thought of a "Scream" 4,5,6…