While the Scream movies all have a very dedicated, cult following and their own merits, Scream 3 is arguably the worst in the franchise because of how far it took the horror movies from their spectacular origins.
Directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger, Scream 3 included mainstays from the cast like Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox as well as other well-known actors like Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Parker Posey, Scott Foley, and Lance Henriksen. The movie was released in 2000, and continued in horror's trend of teen-oriented slashers and ensemble horror movies like the mid-90s saw with other hits like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legends. However, 2000 and beyond saw a change of pace with horror through the introduction of genre subversions like the feminist werewolf horror movie, Ginger Snaps and the Final Destination franchise, which showed how everyday events can be downright terrifying.
In a way, Scream 3 tried to continue the '90s style of horror that brought popular actors from television to the big screen to be tormented, stalked, and killed by cloaked and masked slashers. The dawning of a new era for the genre moved to more highly violent, "torture porn" movies like Saw and big-budget action horror like the Resident Evil movies in the beginning of the new decade. Scream 3 was lost in the shuffle and didn't get enough right to overlook the missteps.
While the genre shifted toward horror remakes as well, primarily from Platinum Dunes in the early and mid-2000s, with movies like The Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream 3 took the already meta-humor that Wes Craven had introduced in the first two movies and dialed it up to eleven. This wasn't a good look for the movie, and arguably is one of the biggest detractors that kept it from being the smart, snappy, and scary slasher that the first two movies were. In essence, the Scream movies have always commented on trends in horror from the original being a refreshed take on the late '70s and '80s slasher movies, which Wes Craven contributed heavily to, and Scream 2 was a commentary on sequels.
Scream 4 took the franchise back to the roots by commenting on reboots while being one, but Scream 3 got lost in the shuffle. There are aspects of a third movie in a horror franchise that can be commented on, but the message is less clear. Often, the third and fourth movies are when franchises naturally run out of steam. Scream 3's twist about Roman Bridger being Sidney's half-brother who her mother gave up, resulting in him being bitter enough to manipulate her life and adopt the Ghostface mantle was convoluted. Scream 3 also makes some major commentary on Hollywood through its inclusion of the Stab 3 cast members for a 'movie within a movie' nod, another film trope. It had some fun cameos, including Jay and Silent Bob and Carrie Fisher as a washed-up actress. While memorable cameos, the comedy aspects were too forward for Scream 3 to maintain the nail-biting feeling of the first two movies.
Part of this was because Kevin Williamson, the original writer for the franchise, was replaced by a different writer (Ehren Kruger), even though the script was adapted from Williamson's notes. Those involved with Scream 3 made a conscious decision to pivot toward horror-comedy because the Columbine High School massacre resulted in a magnifying glass being pointed at teen-oriented, violent media; Scream 3 tried to avoid at least some of that controversy by shifting tone. While still a solid movie, its weaknesses are most obvious when directly compared to the others. With talk of Scream 5 on the way, it'll be interesting to see what the franchise riffs on in the future.
