Scream 3 (R, 2000)

common sense media says

Same violent stuff in hit slasher saga, for the third time.


parents & educators say
  • 75% say violence is an issue
  • 50% say there are positive messages

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that while there's less extreme bloodshed here than in the other Scream features, stabbings and throat-slittings are still abundant, matched with (sometimes exceeded by) the swearing. The movie industry is described as an environment where vapid starlets boost their careers by having sex with influential men. There are ghoulish and defamatory references to the imperiled heroine's late mother throughout, and toward the end the idea of parental rejection comes to the fore as a motive for mass-murder.

Positive messages: No one behaves very admirably.
Violence: Vicious stabbings, close-range shootings, and hand-to-hand punching and strangling.
Sex: Characters talk frequently about sex, almost always in the context of using it to get ahead in show business. Heroine Sidney's own late mother is described repeatedly as this sort of specimen. A movie executive's bedroom has one-way mirrors, presumably for kinky voyeurism.
Language: Profanity here is more graphic than the gore.
Consumerism: References to other movies.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Scream 3

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about how fictitious violence portrayed in entertainment might incite real-life mayhem. They can also talk about whether screen bloodshed has a social effect.

What's the story?

What's the story?
In the last semi-sendup of slasher films, Scream 2, we learned of a hit horror film-within-the-film called Stab inspired by the killings in Scream. That detail dominates SCREAM 3, centered around the studio making Stab 3, third of the true-crime perils of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who by now has suffered so many attacks from masked marauders that she lives in behind security locks and alarm systems, and works anonymously at home on a violence-counseling hotline. Suddenly, knife murders by a new killer wearing the familiar robe strike Los Angeles, causing police to shut down the "Stab 3" set. Sidney, meanwhile, is tormented by dreams about her mother (whose offscreen rape-murder years before set in motion all the Scream atrocities in the first place). She emerges from hiding to help hunt for the latest slasher who's obsessed with her.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
When you've been Screaming over three movies, it's not surprising that the voice starts to get hoarse. The third in the series is watchable and entertaining -- if you can take the blood, swearing and cynicism -- but shows signs of stretching characters and gimmicks a little too far. Two new characters (Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey) are self-centered actors who'll do anything to make it big, giving director Wes Craven the chance to skewer the movie industry. Roger Corman and Carrie Fisher provide campy cameos. The whodunit narrative is unwieldy this time, but to the film's credit, you don't need to see the first two to enjoy this one.

 

Late in the movie the thrill-ride takes on a disturbing dimension with ideas of parental neglect and dysfunctional relationships that give birth to monsters, falling in line with Craven's other horror films in which young people discover horrible things connected to their parents. There's also a suggestion at the end that the Scream storyline represents a maturation arc for Sidney, who learns to get over her fears about the past and embrace the present.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Dimension
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: David Arquette, Emily Mortimer, Neve Campbell, Parker Posey
Genre: Horror
Run time: 117 minutes
Theatrical release: February 4, 2000
DVD release: July 4, 2000
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: violence, profanity, adult themes

This review was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
 
 

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What parents & educators say

13
Based on 4 parent & educator reviews:
  • 75% say violence is an issue
  • 50% say there are positive messages

Most useful reviews by all members

vanilla cupcake
kid, 10 years old
 
i will say one thing. the role models are no good at all!! otherwise yes it is less gory than the other 2. but there is alot of swaring expessilly the d word and the s word. so yes there is alot of innapropiate language. i would though luv to see a 5th because there is already going to be a 4th. yes there is some drinking at mostly the manshion. there is also mention of a movie company and advertisment. though it is a really good movie

Starwarsguy
kid, 10 years old
 
when this came out i thought it was a parody of scary movie!

zasderfght
teen, 14 years old
 
As I Scream fan, I found Scream 3 to be the weakest entry in the trilogy. Without the humor from the original and without the suspense from the first sequel, Scream 3 is stranded with just kills and crime investigation. This film lacked some serious charm from its predecessors, because it lacks the "fun" from the original and it lacks the amount of violence in Scream 2. Scream 3 isn't terrible and when compared to other slashers it is watchable, but it is just average at best. For sexual content 2/5, a woman is seen taking a shower although we don't see any actual nudity just her legs, shoulders, head, and a brief glimpse at her upper buttock. A passionate kiss that is non-sexual. Multiple sexual references and innuendoes. A sub-plot deals with a woman's mother being a mother who slept with many men. For violence and gore 3/5, while it isn't frequent, there is some and it can get bloody at times. Most of the violence here is just stabbing or shooting. For profanity 4/5, there are about 30 f words and its derivatives, anatomical terms, scatological terms, frequent uses of blasphemy, sexual references and innuendo, name-calling, and mild obscenities. For social behavior, it's awful since it involves a killer named Ghostface who kills people. For consumerism 3/5, there are constant references to other old horror films and celebrities. For substance use 2/5, people can be seen smoking. I recommend this film to audiences that are at least 15 and up. For content grading key, a 5 means that it is constant, 4 means that it is quite a bit, 3 means that it doesn't occur frequently, but sometimes, 2 means that there is some content but not a whole lot, 1 means that there is barely any content, and 0 means there is no content.

Strah
adult
 
I love movie but i am 16+ and cant see :S I wach on Tv .. ..

Boti95
teen, 16 years old
 
Great for teens!
The Sydney character doesnt give up and tries to fight off Ghostface. The violence is tipycal. Stabbings and slashings. Its not very violent. It doesnt have the humor and violence of the first two movies.

whateverdubs
kid, 11 years old
 
Whateverdubs.
This is the ultimate scream. It explains the mystery. In the first minute it says the f-word twice. It was realy good though...

B-KMastah
teen, 15 years old
 

JamesRobertson
parent of and 7 , 11 , 14 , 17 year old
 

dklink
teen, 17 years old
 
BETTER THAN THE FIRST 2!
according to this movie trilogy, the original film sets the rules, the sequel BENDS the rules, and in the trilogy, it retells the story beginning to end, the way its supposed to. in SCREAM 3, this is very true. i believe that this is the least gory of the series; the second was the most gory. this movie had the most talk of sex. (Ex. "i didnt f*** the director just to die with you second rate stars!" and "they f***ed her 3 ways from sunday in this room." but the 1st had the most "action". i loved this movies twists, much like the 1st 2, but this has the best twists. i think this was better than the 2nd one, which was better than the 1st. i think it is age appropriate for 13+, depending on the kid. definately not as gory as STAY ALIVE.

antoineisthebest
teen, 15 years old
 
for pre-teens
It's less gory than the first 2 with some swearing and people are talking about sex but not really scary

BlueCastle
kid, 10 years old
 
3
SCREAM in this 1they make a STAB2.BUT WHO SHALL BE THIS MYSTERIOUS KILLER[questionable mark]. is it the news lady the cop or THE MAIN CHARTERER. OR A 4th grade student who is never in this movie

Seminolefreak
teen, 14 years old
 
Not as good as the others, still a great plot twist!
My MPAA Rating, PG-13: Graphic bloody violence, terror, graphic language, some innuenedo

davidguitar15. ...
teen, 17 years old
 
Great movie....but they upped the language a little bit sadly...still good though.

 
sucks recommend this film to rob zomibie
this movie sucks i recommend this for ages 7 because not much gore but its bad

horrormoviefan13
teen, 16 years old
 
My favorite
This was my favorite of them all.

Jeffrey9789
kid, 12 years old
 
Scream 3 is more intresting then 2 and 1
This movie is more suspenceful more violent and more language in it see scream 3 on tv or buy on blu-ray or DVD

SshamrockK
kid, 12 years old
 
okay movie, good for teens and mature tweens
I thought this was the worst movie in the scream series, but it was still a good movie. the violence was the most mild of the first three. though there is a lot of stabbing (killer uses a knife as a main weapon). there were some creepy scenes where sidney was hallucinating about her dead mom, that was probably the creepiest part. there wasn't a lot of language. over all this movie is good for teens and mature tweens.

Jaysnake
teen, 16 years old
 
Not bad
Not the best compared to the first two Scream movies but it was still an enjoyable scary movie with tons of blood and gore...Stabbings, shootings, etc...The language is worse than the voilence though. Scream 3 was very mysterious and suspensful. I can't wait to see the next one.

cerealkiller189
teen, 13 years old
 
HORRIBLE.WORST SCREAM EVER.
Wtf,seriously?i got this from blockbuster and watched it at midnight with my brother I was 7 at that time it's horrible and I actually thought this was just a fake sequel to scream 2 the violence is nothing like the other three,it's so cheesy and so minimal even a three year old can see it.urrrrgghhhhh this is horrible I felt like sleeping suggested rating: pg13(actually wanted to give it a pg) for violence,terror ,mild peril,brief strong language and sexual innuendo.

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