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Horror History: ‘Scream 3’ Turns 20 Years Old Today!

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Scream 3

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Scream 3 made its big screen debut, and yet, the final film in the original trilogy debuted February 4, 2000.

The third film finds the actors in the Stab franchise being picked off one by one in a sometimes convoluted effort to draw Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) out of hiding. In the meantime, Dewey (David Arquette) is on-set as a technical adviser and Gale (Courteney Cox) is brought in by Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) to help provide insight into the killings.

Moreover, the studio upped the star-power in the third film while also underlining the “trilogy theme” of the third film.

Everyone from Lance Henricksen to Roger Corman to Jay and Silent Bob got involved in Scream 3, but my personal favorite was, of course, Carrie Fisher in the role of Bianca, a studio archives secretary who missed out on the role of Princess Leia because she wouldn’t sleep with the director! (It was rumored that Jamie Lee Curtis was offered Fisher’s role. Can you imagine how that would have played out?!)

Campbell was filming both Drowning Mona and Party of Five during the shooting schedule for the film, so Sidney’s role was cut back to fit into the total 20 days she was available to spend on set. This opened the door to really concentrate on other characters in the franchise as well as some who were newly added for this film.

The legendary Parker Posey was particularly good as neurotic Jennifer, an actress who has been playing Gale in the Stab films. Watching Posey trying to out-Gale Weathers Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers was hilarious. The film also boasted British actress Emily Mortimer as a young ingenue, who isn’t quite as innocent as she looks, to play Sidney in Stab 3.

The film brought in $34 million on its opening weekend going on to gross over $161 million in the worldwide box office despite the fact that it got just a tad more complex than it ultimately needed to be.

In fact, by the end of Scream 3–director Wes Craven shot three endings and didn’t event tell the actors which he was going to use–it almost seemed like they were throwing plot points at the wall to see what would stick. A film can only become so meta before it outgrows itself, after all. Despite its faults, however, it was a fun, fast-paced end to the franchise…until Scream 4 was released 11 years later!

Take a look at the film’s trailer below. Tonight may just be the perfect night to settle in with some popcorn and watch some Scream!

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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