Given how much Scream (1996) and its 1997 sequel comment on the horror genre, it was inevitable that a future installment would take place in Hollywood. Scream 3 unfolds against the production of a franchise-within-a-franchise sequel called Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, creating a mirroring effect between the two. Arguably the most star-studded sequel as well, and the most purely comic, the movie nevertheless sidesteps Neve Campbell’s survivor Sidney Prescott, whose presence feels like an afterthought next to series players Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Released in 2000, the movie would proclaim itself the end of a trilogy. And besides its remarks on trilogies and the usual commentary on the horror clichés its characters are doomed to fulfill, it’s also a film about Hollywood’s dark side, specifically—and ironically given its studio—the ingénues whom producers exploit. Although its script isn’t as tightly wound or chilling as its predecessors, the film has more to say, which, in the wake of #MeToo and Harvey Weinstein’s conviction for several counts of rape, makes it seem ahead of its time. But in retrospect, its thematic conclusion to the so-called trilogy feels ungainly, and horror fans may come away underserviced. Regardless, Scream 3 remains another entertaining chapter in the franchise.

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