Got around to watching the Scream trilogy on Blu-Ray. I'll try to keep my thoughts on all 3 as short and sweet as possible.
Scream is, without question, a slasher classic, one of the few genuinely good slasher films, not just fun popcorn entertainment (a la New Nightmare, Freddy vs. Jason), but actually good with one of the most memorable openings ever seen in a slasher. It's pacing is top notch and never dulls down for a second and it not only handles comedy, which is in itself a unique feat for a horror-slasher, but it does so in the ballsiest of ways that you can't help but get a good laugh. Sidney is also one of the best horror protagonists you'll ever see, she delivers a killer performance (no pun intended) from start to finish. My only real gripes are Dewey was kind of annoying in this film and Gale wasn't given the attention her character deserved. All in all, it's near-perfect, which is a rare feat for a slasher.
Scream 2 has Sidney at her best, showing the most personality out of any of the Scream films, which is really saying a lot. It also follows Gale more closely, giving her more depth and screentime from the first movie. She felt more like a reporter trying to make a name for herself and not a background piece like in the first movie and I love that they explored her and Dewey's budding relationship and even Dewey himself is more likable in this. It also does things no other slasher sequel had the balls to do: make a movie reenactment of the first film (which Austin Powers later stole from this movie with Goldmember) and the commentary during film class about how horror sequels are always inferior to the original is comedic gold, though it does have some flaws, mainly how "convenient" some of the kill are, especially at the beginning in the theater. I also hated how, even though I understand and even dig the why,
the Ghost Face killer conveniently didn't have the wherewithall to make sure Dewey was dead after stabbing him in the school. Despite these minor gripes, though, it's a good fun time and one of the better horror sequels and slasher sequels especially, which isn't saying much, but still.
3 has the most jaded plot of all the Scream films (albeit for lack of trying, I mean that literally), but it has just enough new ideas to at least hold your attention while sticking with the tongue-in-cheek, movie-within-a-movie approach of Scream 2. Unfortunately, it's bogged down by a myriad of flaws. It starts out promising enough with an early kill/invasion, but then it goes South by killing off a beloved character early on (a la Alien 3 and Terminator Dark Fate), not to mention there's already a bit of a plot hole beforehand with
Christine "seeing" the Ghost Face in Cotton's place despite having no PTSD, at least not that I'm aware of (she was never involved in any of the previous Ghost Face kill sprees for that to work). It does have some things going for it, though. It uses the Stab concept in a unique way by
not actually having the latest Stab movie begin production, but Sidney, Gale, and Dewey instead find a screenplay which starts a whole new investigation and spree of murders and the returning cast (Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette) is great, as usual. They even revealed a bunch of new info about Maureen (more than either of the previous films) that I thought was kinda cool. Unfortunately, there's so many plot holes and contrivances (convenient kills) you have to turn your brain off to have any kind of fun with this one. It doesn't help that the kills (the main draw of a slasher film) are a lot more dialed down in this one, mostly offscreen affairs.
PS, prime Courteney Cox gives me
________ vibes.
