Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 12 of Scream 3 (0:36:54-0:47:26)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!



SCENE 12 of Scream 3
Length: 10mins 32secs
Primary Characters: Dewey Riley, Gale Weathers, Jennifer Jolie, Steven Stone, Angelina Tyler, Tom Prinze, and Ghostface
Pop Culture References:

• None so overtly, but I'm sure there are plenty!

Weird double feature idea: Peter Deming Lensed Hollywood Flicks from the Early 2000s! There's Scream 3 and there's also Mulholland Drive. The nighttime shots of Los Angeles certainly look the same.


"Is this a wrap party of this a wrap party? Scene 34, Maureen's murder flashback."
"I never liked that scene."
"That's because you weren't in it."
Not for nothing, a lesser franchise would have done a scene like that by now, and thank gawd they never did. Obviously they couldn't have given the reveal of the climax being facts about Maureen death, but they still could have done one at some point. I shudder to think. I do like that the next joke is about "the Prescott house flashback", as if the entirely of Stab 4 is just made up of Sidney returning to Woodsboro and having flashback after flashback.

I think we all remember where we were when we first caught a glimpse of Matt Keeslar, don't we? Mine was Waiting for Guffman and boy that was a sight! He had a great run, actually, with Guffman, Urbania, and The Last Days of Disco. Sadly, I think he expected Scream 3 to be a breakout role for him. A look at his IMDb profile shows a lot of television one. One suspects many of them are pilots that never got picked up. Sad. He's such a good looking man. Such a good looking man.

Some time ago when I sat my friend Suze down to watch all three Scream films (so, "some time ago" was before Scream 4 came out at least) because she'd never seen any of them, and by the third film came around we just spent most of the time mocking the clothes because MY GAWD WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THAT WARDROBE DEPARTMENT. It's actually very amusing on Jennifer Jolie because her character so flamboyant and over the time that you can totally see her wearing clothes like that, even if they are horrendous most of the time (She'd be on Go Fug Yourself daily). Gale, though?

Yikes!

I seem to remember when this scene happened we both burst into tears of laughter. Look at her! Consider for a moment what she is wearing and I dare you not to laugh. I mean, despite the fact that they're just heinously ugly to look at, are those red leather pants not the most inappropriate attire one could wear when there's a killer on the loose? And that bag. Oh my lordy, that bag! As if her hair wasn't bad enough...

I know Scream 3 is about Hollywood, but I'm surprised they put in so much smoking. I have nothing to say about it per se other than I think it's curious and somewhat uncomfortable.



I have nothing to say about these shots either. Except maybe "has Parker Posey ever played a mid-century vampire?"

Much like everything else that Parker Posey does in this movie - seriously, one of my all time favourite comedy performances. How anybody doesn't see it is beyond me - I die for how obviously posed and green-screened this publicity photo is. Of course, now the plot is getting into the nitty gritty of Maureen's Hollywood past and we can all collectively fall asleep.

Stu Macher's comment to Sidney about Maureen, however, did prove to be curiously apt: "Your mom was no Sharon Stone!"

I like seeing stuff like this in movies. It's obviously a piece of personal paraphernalia and it's cute. I imagine most "family" photos in movies are of the actual actor's family and it lends great authenticity.

Aw, poor Puddy.

HOWEVER, here's where the problems with Scream 3 kinda all come together. So, they keep trying to make the voice translator gadget happen like it's fetch. Also like fetch, it ain't gonna happen. What makes it all wrong for this scene though is that Steve Stone was a perfect character to have a traditional Ghostface phone conversation with. He's not a member of the original three (Sidney, Dewey, Gale), nor is he a member of the cast, so the familiarity with the voice isn't there. Someone like Steve could easily think it was a prank. Or, given his body size, realise it's the villain and yet think his bulky size will help keep him safe. He can protect himself and such. Alas, they use the Dewey voice changer and as a result the scene lacks oomph.

Patrick Warburton, the giant hulkish man that he is, gets killed by a single knife in the back (oh, and a whack over the head with... a saucepan). Believable, sure, but much like a certain other character from the series, Steve Stone is big and he probably played football at some point of his life. He could kick the shit outta anyone (especially wimpy Roman Bridger), so it's a shame he didn't get a, ahem, grander exit. Oh well.

Furthermore, when Steve sees Dewey there's a brief moment where he points to his phone as if to say "was it you?" but very little is made of it. Everybody is none the wiser regarding his phone conversation. Missed opportunity, I say. Missed opportunity.

Apropos of nothing, I like how the moonlighting recalls Friday the 13th.


"Alright, don't panic"


"Aaaaaggghhh!"
Not gonna lie, this is one of my favourite moments from Scream 3, and a rare moment where the comedy is being worked at the same time as a scare. I feel like I have to keep reiterating that I do really, really like Scream 3 because I keep pointing out things that are wrong, but I'm harsh because I care. This film didn't blend the funny with the scary very well at all, but even though this is but a brief moment and the scare itself isn't particularly effective, I still think it works. It made for an ace post-title trailer moment, too.

Another bit I like with all the checking of the phones. Like I said in the last scene, the franchise is a fascinating way to follow the technology developments of the last 15 years. I mean, does anyone in 2012 still use a fax machine outside of an office, maybe?

Which, sadly, brings us to the fax machine. Or, the ghost fax as we should perhaps be calling it. How else to explain it working when the power has been cut off to the house? Is the fax machine on its own power grid? Oh mystical Ghost Fax, what will your next feat of magic be?


"I've had enough, I'm going back in."
I mean, I guess it's understandable that Tom Prinze is a completely clueless twit given who he's named after, but this?!? I mean, really. That's one dumb decision right there. For crying out loud, he's currently starring in a horror movie and he decides to run back into the dark and empty house? At least the other characters are, for all intents and purposes, real world people. Oy.

WHY DOESN'T HE JUST TAKE THE GHOST FAX PAGE OUTSIDE AND READ IT WITH THE REST OF THEM RATHER THAN SEARCHING FOR A LIGHT SOURCE! Speaking of which, it is not that dark. Ugh. Tom's death is just so freakin' stupid. So many things wrong with it. If the gas was that strong already why did nobody else smell it? How the Ghost Fax receive the letters? How did Roman get down the hill in time after turning the gas on so much that the entire house explodes? How... why... but... ugh.

Tommy Prinze go boom!

Flash photography means forever, Courteney.

Now, of course, the mooted "Angelina Tyler is the second killer" idea from the screenplay was obviously still in play at this point or else she'd be seen here fleeing the explosion along with Dewey, Gale, and Jennifer. It only goes to make the last minute decision to axe her role as Roman's accomplice all the more annoying. She was clearly set up very deliberately to fill the role and to fill it logically within the scenarios the film plays out. It makes little sense for Angelina to suddenly disappear before the explosion (which she does), right?

 "I'm rolling down the hill!"
Oh Parker Posey! I love you so much!

I hadn't noticed before, but the killer looks up at Dewey as he's shouting to Gale to look behind her. Gale and Dewey's little exchange of "Thanks for saving me", "It's a habit" is totally cute.


"What. The fuck. Happened. To you?"
GODDESS.


"My. Lawyer. Liked. That."
While the punch scene here is obviously meant to elicit a "Yeah! Gale finally gets to be the one to do the punching! Yeah!" moment, it's actually just kinda odd. Still, Posey's reply is just PHENOMENAL. I find it hard to believe she didn't do a bit of improvisation with her scenes. I mean, how can her writing be so fabulous and yet nobody else's is?

Oh hai Angelina without a mark on you. Fancy seeing you there.

Scream:
Intro, Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29, Scene 30, Scene 31 Scene 32, Scene 33, End Credits

Scream 2
Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14. Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29, Scene 30, End Credits

Scream 3
Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11