Several years after the events of the second film, Sidney has moved onto a private farm with a dog, her father, and lots of security. She works from home and has shut herself off from the outside world. Meanwhile, Stab 3 is filming in Hollywood and the Ghostface Killer has returned, looking for Sidney. As the bodies start to drop, this brings back Gale and Dewey, the only other survivors from the previous films. They have been split up but now are teamed together again to try and solve the mystery before they have to involve Sidney. In the end, of course, she has to return, and a great many secrets are revealed as we find out who the new killer really is, and why they’re on this final rampage.
I saw this once in the theater when it came out and wasn’t very impressed. It was good but the tank was nearly empty on the concept, I thought. I watched it again on video and felt the same. This is probably the first time I’ve watched it in something like fifteen years or so. It held up better this time, and watching it in close proximity to the first two really helped. There are some clever bits going on here, the teaming up of the movie actors with their real-life counterparts is nice, and the all-star cast delivers (especially Parker Posey, who is playing the actress who is playing Gale in Stab 3). The red herrings really work because even though I had seen the movie twice already, time had diminished my memory and I couldn’t remember who the actual killer was, and I guessed wrong before the final twist. Also, I appreciated the Randy cameo, even if it was forced and unrealistic. It was still cool.
All in all, this is a good conclusion to a damned good trilogy, even if it turns out there was another film waiting to be made about ten years later. Taken as a whole, these three movies work together quite well, and although they haven’t aged that great (the music, man, is soooo 90’s, and not in a good way), they have stood the test of time. It’s been 24 years since the first one came out, and it’s just as watchable today as it was then. Kudos to Wes Craven and all involved.
★★✮☆