Now, if you ask horror fans what the worst entry into the Scream franchise is, odds are they will say Scream 3. I was originally part of that crowd when there was only the trilogy to watch. Nowadays, I can give credit to the film for being a unique entry. One with a lot to give.

Before we get into it. Courtney Cox’s hair, damn.

Scream 3 starts off like the other two, but it is a character we already know, Cotton Weary, getting the phone call from Ghostface as he is driving. The killer is inside his house with his wife, which makes Cotton speed home.

The killer in this movie has an interesting gadget, a voice box, and it lets them use a range of voices and somehow has the voices of all the major characters in the film. It’s a made-up piece of technology that only serves to add tension to this film, but it is a bit stupid and throws the believability out of the window.

Ghostface uses the voice box to trick Cotton’s wife into thinking it is him trying to kill her, so when he arrives, she attacks him, and it leads to them both being killed.

The news spreads fast, and we see Sidney now living in the hills of LA in a secured ranch-style property. The years of trauma are catching up to her, and she lives in almost isolation.

We then see a studio in Hollywood that is producing the new instalment of the Stab series and Gale Weathers sneaking on set to try and get information after hearing about the murders from Detective Kincaid. She runs into Dewey, who is an adviser on the film, and it’s no surprise they had another falling out.

Stab 3’s director, Roman Bridger, is facing criticism from producer John Milton about the murder affecting the film. Later, Sarah Darling, who is in the film, is murdered by Ghostface in the office of the production studio, and that causes the film to be cancelled.

After hearing about these murders, Sidney regroups with Gail and Dewey at the police station after getting phone calls from the killer using her dead mother’s voice and realizing she is not safe.

The cast of the film and Gail and Dewey all head to Jennifer Jolie’s house to celebrate the film being cancelled, and Ghostface kills her bodyguard and another actor in the film, Tom Prinze, after blowing up the house.

Jennifer, who plays Gail in the Stan film, teams up with Gail and discovers that Sidney’s mother, Maureen, had a secret career as an actor in the 1970s, starring in John Milton’s films, but also that he held “parties” at his mansion where Maureen and other actresses were raped.

They confront Milton, who confesses but says that Maureen knew what she was getting into and tries to avoid any responsibility and reminds them that it is Roman’s birthday and he is hosting his birthday.

An interesting detail to point out is that this plotline of a producer using his fame to get sex from young actresses is very familiar with the Harvey Weinstein situation. This is interesting, as this film was produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and it is amazing they were ok with this plot calling out his behaviour in a way.

Back at the studio, Sidney, Dewey, and Gail are visited by Martha Meeks, Randy’s sister, who gives them a videotape made by Randy before he was killed in Scream 2. Randy gives us the rules for a trilogy and warns Sidney that she is a target again.

That night at Milton’s Mansion. The surviving cast members are Angelina, Tyson, and Jennifer with Dewey and Gale. Ghostface appears and attacks the group, splitting them up. Ghostface attacks and kills Angelina, who reveals she had sex with Milton to get the role. They then attack Tyson and kill him before throwing his body out the window. Then, he stalks Jennifer in a two-way mirrored closet with a camera. In a bedroom and kills her before Dewey and Gale can help. Kincaid arrives to help but is knocked unconscious, and Dewey and Gale are taken hostage.

Ghostface lures Sidney to the mansion, and it is revealed that they are Roman. He tells Sidney that after Milton raped Maureen, she gave birth to him. He is her half-brother. He tried to contact her a few years ago, but she turned him away. So, he filmed her having sex with men around the town, including Billy Loomis’s dad. Roman showed Billy the footage and told him what he should do, setting off the events of the first film. Roman kills Milton in front of Sidney, and they fight, which leads to Sidney winning the fight and Dewey killing Roman.

Later, Sidney arrives home and shows that she’s recovered from her trauma by not locking the gate or shutting a door, and we leave off with Dewey proposing to Gail.

Scream 3 was written by Ehren Kruger and directed by Wes Craven. It had a budget of $40 million and earned $161 million.