Part 2 Continues to "WOW"

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 2010)

The Scream Trilogy is the film series that redefined fear. They revived the horror genre. The one Alfred Hitchcock sunned everyone with Psycho. The one John Carpenter's Halloween brought serial killers afloat to. Even our own Wes Craven did by scaring us in the only place we found comfort in with A Nightmare on Elm Street. Now, with the Scream trilogy, the horror genre was brought back to life continuing the face of iconic fear.
Wes Craven, as mentioned before, is the master of suspense. When Kevin Williamson's script was out on the prow, Craven was really the only proper choice to direct. His method of scaring the audience never fails. He has so much control over the three stories without the feeling of "over-directing". For many years, Freddy Kruger was hailed as Craven's masterpiece, this trilogy is now and will be his crowning achievement.
Kevin Williamson wrote the original and the sequel, then Ehren Kruger came along to write the third when Williamson declined. However, Williamson basically outlined the story for Kruger, leaving the dialogue and details to Kruger. All three scripts are absolutely incredible and tantalizing original. The story grows as the series continues and it becomes more intricate.
Now, it'd be tough to choose between the three, which is my favorite. But, I think as the story becomes more complicated, I was more intrigued, which may be the only factor to say the films get better as we go along. That aside, the three are so close together with quality, entertainment, suspense, and as films overall. It's difficult for a film trilogy to achieve that. Most times, sequels get worse, but here? No such thing.
The thing that really separates Scream from the average film series besides the screenplay, the direction, the suspense level, the tech stuff, and the visuals is the acting. This is what I call true acting ensemble.
The two dazzlingly standouts are Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox. What performances. Now, it's no surprise that Sidney, Gale, and Dewey are in all three films. So Campbell and Cox have to sustain their performances over three films. It's extraordinary. David Arquette, I'll check him off first. He is funny and dorky in the first two films. He really adds to the table in Scream 3. He finally "grows up" and isn't as insecure, which is a lovely thing to see.
You see the actors grow and fall as their characters. Campbell really finds Sidney Prescott, the true essence of the character. Campbell does something tricky here. She shows us a girl who is in a horrible place in her life, who is strong and can make it in the world, but is also vulnerable and weak. It's tricky, but she pulls it off with grace. Sidney is this tormented young woman, and Campbell never shies away from that; how she can act with her eyes can simply not be put into words, it's that great.
Courteney Cox is fierce as Gale Weathers. She leaves her comfy zone (the control freak Monica Geller on Friends). Cox steps up the dramatic work here, especially in Scream 2. The character Gale Weathers grows from being a "wannabe" b*tch, to being a successful and rub it in your face more of a b*tch. Then in Scream 3, she changes. After her true feelings for Dewey were revealed in Scream 2, Gale was tamed and not so much of the witch she once was. I've mentioned her dramatic work in Scream 2 a few times. It is simply the best of her career. In Scream 1, she was hinting that she had feelings for Dewey, but also hinting she was using him for information. In Scream 2, she finally lets lose and says 'I don't care," and gives in. Right as she confesses herself, the situation diminishes. Cox is so good in the scene where she is the sound room and sees Dewey being stabbed through the mirrors (to what she thought was his death). It's heartbreaking.
In Scream 2, Jada Pinkette is hilarious, without a funny character. Her section of the film is awesome and a great follow-up to Barrymore's from the original film. Sarah Michelle Gellar also has a small role here and makes the most of her seven-minute screen time. Laurie McCalf is also very good here. Jamie Kennedy, who survived the first film reprises his role here and it's always a fun time when he's on the screen.
The Screams are also grand on the technical scale, too. The ghostface costume has become the most frightening, iconic horror film costume. It screams fear. The brilliance of it is, this mask wasn't made specifically for the film. I was a regular Halloween costume sold in stores everywhere. That's what makes it scarier. The great master, Wes Craven once said, "Something isn't scary unless people can identify with it and could possibly be in the same positions as the characters on the screen. The films also include a killer score and frightening sets (especially John Milton's house, where the climax of Scream 3 takes place).
Bob Weinstein, the producers of the Scream trilogy, now demanded a fourth installment. Why? To make a few bucks? Scream fits perfectly as a trilogy, without any loose ends and had a wonderful ending filled with metaphors and a great chase scene. Williamson is back writing. Having him back on board with Craven directing and three survivors back gives me some comfort that it won't fail completely, but I'm scared for it's survival. Let's just hope for the best.
Overall, without a doubt, the best trilogy ever made. My personal favorite films; they're fun, very scary, with excellent performances, writing and directing. What more could you want? The three easiest 10s I've ever given.