Opens February 4, 2000

Here's a hint: Aaaaaaaah! Yes, it's time for the third installment in the Scream series, this one suggesting that it is, yes really, the "final" episode of the shockfest. We'll see. After all, Hollywood loves a formula, especially one that makes as much money as this one. And by all appearances, Scream 3 will rake in the box office dough, even though it feels a little tired around the edges. The real delight in this episode is the unabashed sense of humor of screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who gleefully skewers Hollywood again and again.

Playing on the same self-referential humor that the series has made famous, this installment -- courtesy of a video-taped mini lecture from Scream 2 victim and self-styled horror expert Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) -- tells us that there is a difference between a sequel and a trilogy, you know. So, if you're faced with new back story and a preponderance of exposition -- presto, it's trilogy time, and the ending of a cycle. That cycle, as we all know, is the laying to rest of all the ghosts in the life of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the why-did-I deserve-this heroine of the series.

Lest things already feel a bit stale, writer Kruger has juiced things up by paralleling the real events with the events in "Stab 3", the third installment in the series of films based on the, er, "real" events in Woodsboro, USA. Hence, where there's one Dewey (David Arquette), there's another actor version, the preening Tom Prinze (Matt Kesslar). Where there's one Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox-Arquette), there's Gale #2 Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey). And so on and so on.

So, who could be the killer this time? Is it Detective Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey), the handsome and understanding movie buff cop who investigates the murders as cast members from "Stab 3" start getting picked off? Is it sleazy horror producer John Milton (Lance Henrikson) or egocentric young director Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), who is awfully p.o.-ed that his film has been shut down? Hell, maybe it's Sid herself. After all, in a trilogy, all rules are off and anyone can die, something we learn in the first ten minutes of the film.

Frankly, there's nothing really new in this final film, but it's still fun all the same. You cringe when characters step into dark rooms and, of course, continue to ask yourself -- why are they doing that?! But most of all, you'll laugh because this movie is, well, a scream. Some will say that Kruger doesn't come close to original writer Kevin Williamson's humor or style, but Kruger has a style all his own. He's not that original in the spooky department, although there is a great bit in a costume room at the studio. Instead, he's more interested in exploring the comic elements and he does that with gusto. There are several bitingly funny cameos, as well as too many jabs at Hollywood's ego to count. The real brownie points go to the actors, though, who play their parts to the max. Campbell, Arquette and Cox-Arquette have their bits down to a science and the new cast members, particularly indie-queen Parker Posey as the dim, hip, demanding starlet, shine as well.

So what's the bottom line here ? You probably won't be bowled over. The good news, however, is that Scream 3 is better than almost every film released over the Christmas holidays and, while the ending is a bit anti-climactic, it's nothing to be ashamed of because it's fun and, of course, suitably gory. Now, if only Dimension keeps its promise and leaves the Scream trilogy to RIP with dignity.