Scream 3 (2000)

Scream 3 is a 2000 American slasher film created by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette, released on February 4, 2000 as the third installment in the Scream film series. Scream 3 takes place three years after Scream 2 and follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell) who has gone into self-imposed isolation following the events of the previous two films but is drawn to Hollywood after Ghostface returns and begins killing the cast of the film within a film "Stab 3" and leaving images of Sidney's mother at the crime scenes. The film also follows the characters of Gale Weathers (Cox Arquette) and Dewey Riley (Arquette) as they aid Sidney but also deal with their own romantic subplot. As the previous films, Scream 3 combines the traditional violence of the slasher genre with comedy and "whodunit" mystery while satirizing the cliché of film trilogies. Unlike the previous films, however, there was a greater emphasis on the comedic elements while the violence and horror were reduced following increased scrutiny from news media about violence in media and its effect on the public after the Columbine High School massacre. The film was originally the concluding chapter of the Scream series but a sequel, Scream 4, was greenlit in 2008 and released in 2011.