(Reviewed by Eminem4569) - This film just seems like a regurgitation of past material.

All of our old friends are back…wait, nope, not exactly. No Kevin Williamson as writer. Which would explain the lack of a smart script. Wes Craven reluctantly agreed to do this film after Miramax agreed to green light his drama Music of the Heart. Neve Campbell not wanting to be labeled a “Scream Queen” only agreed to be on set for 20 days, presumably the minimum to get her scenes shot. Many of our friends are long dead. Seems like Miramax was the only one excited about this film.

After the terrifying events that occurred at Windsor College in the previous sequel, Sidney is now living alone in a secluded Northern California mountainside her whereabouts unbeknownst to everyone but Dewey. Still haunted by her past, frightening images of her dead mother reappear time after time in her head as she tries to get on with her life. She now gives advice, under a fictional name for safety, to women in crisis via a telephone hotline.

Soon enough though, her comfort turns to fear as she receives a threatening phone call from an anonymous source who informs her on the recent murders committed around the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the second sequel to the film that appeared in the last Scream entry based around the events that happen in the first Scream. Confusing, huh?

While Syd and the others are terrorized, she finds out more about her mother's death, learns that anything can happen in the final installment of a trilogy and puts together the final pieces of the Scream mystery.

When watching a sequel I initially look at a couple of details. First, does the sequel add anything noteworthy to the series? Second, was there a need for another installment? Finally, does the story add anything worthwhile?

I will answer the second question first, which the answer is definitely “NO!” The first film tied things up so neatly, which the 2nd film and 3rd films could never match. The culprits were caught and killed. There was no need for copycat killers or more twists. This sequel adds some noteworthiness to the series, yet it still is just a run-of-the-mill slasher film. The film is sorely missing a lot of the wit in the script due to the absence of Kevin Williamson’s writing. Besides the new faces none of the actors look excited to be in this film either. The most memorable part of the film is the climax, which just as the first film gets a tad over-the-top and a little silly, yet it is still effective. It deserves to be in a better film, though. Too bad Scream 3 couldn’t be that film.

The Scream series is somewhat like a joke. Not in the pathetic sense, more in the way it’s innovativeness was handled. Roger Ebert said it best, "Scream was like a funny joke, Scream 2 was like somebody telling you, here's how I heard that joke and Scream 3 is like somebody telling you a joke that they can not believe you have not heard."

** 2 stars