Last Updated on February 7, 2025 by Angel Melanson
Hello, Sidney…for the third time. That’s right! Today marks the 25th anniversary of Scream 3, which first graced the silver screen in February of 2000. The fears of Y2K were behind us and horror master Wes Craven was back for a third installment in his slasher franchise, which had become very successful up to that point thanks to the brilliance of 1996’s Scream, which helped revive the slasher genre for a new generation. More than two decades later, the third entry in the series remains a divisive, big swing.
See also: John Carpenter’s THE FOG Turns 45: Celebrating The Iconic Seaside Ghost Story
The appeal of Scream was that it was a very meta endeavor, building on what Craven had done several years earlier in New Nightmare. By the time Scream 3 came around, that meta narrative had sort of become like a snake eating its own tail. Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott now lives in seclusion but, once again, bodies begin dropping in Hollywood on the set of Stab 3, the latest in a series of movies inspired by Ghostface’s previous killings. Sidney emerges from hiding and other Greensboro survivors, such as Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquetted), are drawn once more into a deadly game.
“You’re using the word sequel. We’re not going the way you guys tend to think about it,” Craven said to FANGORIA in issue #189 of the magazine, which featured the threequel on the cover. Indeed, this was not the typical slasher sequel. There were new people under that Ghostface mask. There were cameos from horror icons such as Roger Corman. Fake movie stars played by the likes of Jenny McCarthy were starring in a movie within a movie.
Whether or not it all works is a matter of personal taste. Scream 3 is largely considered one of the lesser entries in the series, with scribe Ehren Kruger stepping in for Kevin Williamson, who had penned the previous two installments. Despite a change in writers, Craven told Fango at the time that he always intended to stay on for the whole trilogy.
“I was pretty much always committed to doing all three films. I had been intrigued, from the onset, that this was going to be a trilogy, and in that sense, I saw it as being unique to the genre. I always liked the fact that, rather than focusing on a franchise killer who keeps on coming back like Freddy or Jason, we were focusing on the development of the characters. In that sense, I see the Scream films as very much in the category of the Godfather series.”
Ultimately, it’s another twisty ride, with Stab 3 director Roman Bridger (played by Scott Foley) revealed to be not only the killer, but Sidney’s half brother as well. It could be accused of being wonky and not as air tight as the original, but it still resonated with audiences. Even against an inflated $40 million budget, Scream 3 made $161 million worldwide, proving that there was still plenty of gas left in the tank.
“I don’t think it’s going to be my last genre picture, but I’d like it to be my last film where somebody is chasing somebody else around with a knife,” Craven said to Fango at the time. As fans know, it was not his last film of this sort. Craven would return to direct 2011’s Scream 4, which served as the legendary director’s final film before his passing.
In the years since, the series has been revived with Scream bringing Ghostface to a new generation in 2022. Paramount is currently in production on Scream 7, which will be directed by Williamson and is due to hit theaters in 2026. As for Scream 3? Certain fans (myself included) have given it a bit of a re-evaluation in the years since its release. Even so, it remains a bit of a wild card within the canon of this beloved series.
For more, check out some goods from Fango’s archives on Wes Craven and Scream including…
- SCREAM Is The New SCREAM
- From The Fango Vault: SCREAM Behind-The-Scenes With Drew Barrymore, Wes Craven And Co.
- 25 Years Of SCREAM: Exclusive Interview With Craven Producing Partner Marianne Maddalena
- Somehow, Matthew Lillard Is Returning For SCREAM 7
