Editorials
‘Scream 3’ Is A Great Trilogy Closer, You Guys Just Hate Fun
At a recent movie screening, I saw someone displaying unparalleled bravery in the audience. I saw someone willing to push back against a tide of indignity that has battered me for too long. I saw someone wearing a Scream 3 Defender shirt.
Yeah, I didn’t think they made those either, but here we are.
Why Scream 3 Deserves a Reappraisal
I mean, there are only like 8 of us out there, so you can’t blame me for being surprised. For the longest time, I’ve had to sit through people going on tirades about how terrible Scream 3 is. How it’s the worst of the franchise, how it ruined the formula, how it retroactively ruins the other films because of its plot twist. But Scream 3 is not a bad film. It’s not even a bad Scream movie. Because as Randy Meeks puts it in his posthumous survival rules tape for Sidney, Dewey, and Gale, Scream 3 is a rare closer to a horror trilogy…that just happened to keep going with films 4, 5, & 6. It was always intended to be the last Scream, and it does its job perfectly in that context.
Spoilers for Scream 3 and most of the other Scream films start here.
Going Beyond Woodsboro and Making It Count
The title might be a bit inflammatory, yes, but it is specifically worded to point out that Scream 3 is fun, not an expertly made film like the first.
I’m not here to argue over the things in the film that don’t make sense; I don’t think that the super high-tech voice changer isn’t dumb (it is), and I don’t think that the gas explosion kill makes any sense on a planning or physics level (it doesn’t). I am NOT here for Gale’s terrible bangs discourse. Scream 3 is far from perfect from a production standpoint, thanks to being subject to plenty of reshoots and 11th hour rewrites, and we can all acknowledge that. Hell, the film does plenty of that with its many in-jokes and references to its own continual script changes, in the light of leaks that were releasing both planted fake and actual material of Scream 3. The production was a hot mess, that in my eyes, pulled off the slightest of miracles with how well the film turned out.
Why Scream 3 Is One of the Most Fun Entries in the Franchise
But what I will argue is that as far as stories go, Scream 3 is the movie that gets best to the essence of the original, and it’s the second most fun in the franchise while doing it. It’s got plenty of messed up dark comedy, it’s got stellar performances, and it’s got the meta-horror commentary we love. It swings for the fences with its bolder ideas, like having a cast of actors portraying characters we’ve seen before as the new retinue of victims, including fan favorite Jennifer Jolie (played by Parker Posey), who accompanies Gale Weathers while trying to act like Gale Weathers. Rest in peace Jennifer, you were the best of us, you were the best of all the Scream side characters.
The cast-within-a-cast brilliance and the humor is a small byproduct of the film perfectly utilizing the Hollywood location; Craven’s directing makes for some joyride sequences. From set pieces like being stalked in a wardrobe room filled with Ghostface costumes, to being chased through a recreation of Sidney’s own house on a soundstage, going beyond Woodsboro really felt like it had more purpose than the environmental rehash that Windsor College ended up feeling like in 2.
Hollywood as the Perfect Backdrop for Meta Horror
Even the finale inside Milton’s old money mansion in the hills is the perfect level of camp while still feeling like uncharted territory. And while some deride it as closer to Scooby Doo than Scream, that’s…the whole point. The film is supposed to be a fun send-off for these characters, including stuff like getting trapped in hidden passageways and secret rooms.
And what really makes it the perfect endpoint for the trilogy is the send-off it gives Sidney.
But First, A Roman Bridger Recap
Scream 3 is a movie about a final girl’s last struggle and triumph, not only against individual violent, delusional men, but the culture that makes them. A struggle that has been going on since the first film, and 3 shows the most how Sidney has grown as a character.
She’s a women’s crisis counselor who works anonymously from an isolated home, with only Dewey aware of her location. She’s still reeling from the last film, having lost most of her friends along the way. But eventually, Ghostface rearing his ugly head forces her to confront her fraught relationship with her mother, and put her fears down one last time. Her arc culminates in one of the best final girl confrontations in all of horror history: Sidney Prescott vs Roman Bridger.
Roman Bridger: The Most Misunderstood Ghostface
That second name caused a lot of groans and eye-rolls amongst fans reading this, I know, but hear me out. Because Roman Bridger is not just a personal favorite Ghostface of mine, he might just be the best Ghostface after Billy Loomis and Stu Macher for what he becomes a symbol of.
Played by the wonderfully talented Scott Foley, Roman is unduly hated for his miraculous and continuity-breaking kill streak (again, not here to talk editing). He is the only canonically solo slasher in the franchise pulling off some impossible feats, and his origins are even more controversial: Roman is the half-brother of Sidney by way of Maureen Prescott, with the other half of his parentage being one of the predatory Hollywood producers John Milton helped in assaulting Maureen.
Eventually finding his mother as an adult after being put up for adoption, Maureen refused to reconnect with Roman since he was too painful a memory of the worst time in her life. Enraged, he began stalking Maureen and filming the affairs she was having around town, eventually catching her with Hank Loomis. Showing Billy the footage as an act of vengeance and spurring him to frame Cotton Weary, the teenager’s plans to kill her were set into motion.
This would eventually lead to the creation of Ghostface, a moniker Roman would claim years later when he tried to lure out Sidney and end the Prescott bloodline for good. Roman is a nasty, entitled, chauvinistic piece of work who really takes the cake as far as Ghostface’s go, and his deluded efforts are rewarded with the beatdown of the century.
Scream 3’s Final Confrontation Is The Crescendo Sidney’s Story Was Building To
When they finally meet in the theatre room of Milton’s mansion at the film’s climax, Roman Bridger is revealed for what he really is: the perfect embodiment of the misogyny and sexual violence that has been following Sidney Prescott her entire life. While there is an intangible specter of Maureen Prescott haunting Sidney’s dreams in this film, the physical representation of that suffering ends up right in front of her. Standing across the room from her is the incarnation of all the misery, bullying, and judgment from Woodsboro and the world at large, placing blame and hatred on innocent women in the name of defending abusers.
From her classmates in the school bathrooms deriding her mother, to Nancy Loomis blaming Maureen for Billy’s actions, to Billy himself, Sidney gets to meet a neatly packaged representative for the culture of misogyny that made her flee into isolation in the first place. Roman Bridger becomes the human target for Sidney to unleash three films of pure rage on, and in their fight, it is cathartic glory. The dialogue they have before they get into it always makes me grin, because we get to watch Sidney finally chew him apart, and by extension demolish every other Ghostface’s terrible motivations.
A Brutal, Satisfying Final Confrontation
It is by far the most brutal of the confrontations that we get until the Radio Silence films when they start throwing bricks and stabbing people 40 times a piece (not that I’m complaining, love me some bloody Radio Silence fare). It’s a pure knock-down, drag-out fight to the death that lets Sidney put her past behind her by physically beating the hell out of a human representation of evil. And it is downright fun.
When Sidney sinks that ice pick into Roman’s heart, it might not be what does him in finally (thanks for the headshot, Dewey), but it is what puts to rest the ghost of hatred that’s lingered all these years. She holds his hand as he dies, which can be read in a dozen different ways, but to me, it always felt straightforward: she had finally put that vigilance, that feeling of anxiety and shame and fear that sent her into hiding to rest, and was giving it a bloodstained send-off. A proverbial goodbye to Ghostface and his reign of terror, on behalf of the audience.
You know, at least until Scream 4 came along.
The Thematic Bow That Is The Roman Reveal
Now, many people hate that Scream 3 “retcons” Billy Loomis and Stu Macher’s motivations as being puppeteered by Roman. Except for a.) the fact that Roman literally states he never knew they were going to do the Ghostface killings, and b.) he makes their actions more realistic.
Roman spurring Billy to become a killer is in and of itself a pretty good commentary on how terrible men doing heinous things create more terrible men who do even worse. John Milton made Roman, even if we believe he never laid a finger on Maureen; he was an awful man who victim blamed and used his clout to avoid consequences. This made Roman, who eventually became a victim, blame his own mother in the same way his “father” did. Then that kid found Billy Loomis, and, you’re smart you can do the math on how that turned out.
The point is, that the cycle of misogyny and violence is propagated from father to son, from friend to friend, and the first three Scream movies were always a pretty prescient commentary on that idea that we now see as commonplace.
The Ending Sidney Prescott Truly Deserved
Roman’s demise and Sydney’s victory is a neat bow that ties up the cycle of violence that followed Sidney and ends with her getting a well-deserved walk off into the sunset. And that walk is scored with triumphant music and bright, warm light that left Sidney at the peak of her victories.
Scream 3 undoubtedly deserves more credit. And do I really think everyone who dislikes it is simply anti-fun? Of course not, there are plenty of legitimate reasons you might find it hard to watch this film. But if it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, and you want to watch it as the end to Sidney’s story, it is more than worth a second chance. The next time you plan on skipping straight to 4 on a marathon watch through to see Emma Roberts dive bomb through a coffee table, think to yourself: do I want to skip the coolest fight Sidney Prescott’s ever been in and miss her one true happy ending?
The answer might just be no. Happy watching, horror fans!
People hate It: Chapter Two. Unlike many horror sequels or poorly reviewed releases that gain popularity in time, the film has seemingly gained more notoriety. Maybe it’s the occasionally goofy CGI, the heavy comedy, or just how overstuffed it is, but everyone is really down and out on it. Still, though, I will defend this movie like a member of the Losers Club defending their Ka-Tet (deep-cut King reference for you constant readers).
But why, though? Objectively, the movie can feel overstuffed. The CGI is a little goofy. Well, despite all this, I believe It: Chapter Two captures the pure essence of the book. It captures the heart, the terror, and metaphors about small town America excellently…even better than the first one.
It: Chapter Two Is the Ultimate Stephen King Movie
Listen…I am a simple man. If you have this much pure Stephen King energy in a movie, I am going to love it. Why King fans did not grasp onto this movie, I do not know, because it is probably the most “Stephen King” Stephen King movie ever.
We have the small, Maine town and characters from the book, yes, but also a fantastic cameo from the big man himself. Seriously, this movie is like Avengers: Endgame for constant readers (even though Castle Rock is technically more of a crossover). The movie has the heart, small-town summer feeling, and aesthetics for a King film to the max. Whether that is a positive or negative depends on the viewer, but constant readers can relish in how set the movie is on capturing King’s Americana.
It: Chapter Two Understands the Stephen King Novel
Yes, the movie is sillier than the first installment. It’s technically less proficient and cleaner than its predecessor. Still, this movie just generally captures both the message and energy of the book. Don’t get me wrong, It (2017) is excellent in that it feels like a haunted house walkthrough. There are lots of different entities Pennywise dresses up as to attack. It’s colorful, fun…but it takes a lot of liberties. This is fine, but It: Chapter 2 painstakingly portrays the deeper undercurrents and plot beats of the novel.
The Horror Beneath It: Chapter Two
It has always been a story about the darkness behind America’s suburban facade. Behind all of the killer clown and creature feature/cosmic fun, it is about how America’s past will always linger, and is always darker than any fictional entity. It: Chapter 2 does not shy away from its portrayal of bigotry, or its bigger messages about racism and America’s past. The first one has elements of it, but really, Chapter 2 feels like it peels back the kid’s-on-bikes stuff to get to the nitty-gritty of the story.
Additionally, the movie gets the casting down perfectly. Not saying It did not have some of the best child performances ever, but finding not only worthy adult counterparts, but book-accurate players would have to be an arduous task. Huge shout-out to the casting team for absolutely nailing this.
Bill Skarsgård Makes Pennywise Even Scarier
The whole cast blows this movie out of the water, but Pennywise in this one steals the show. Skarsgard is rarely anything less than excellent, but he gets his true horror laurel here. He plays the role as sinister as possible, landing some humor but never letting it weigh down the fear factor.
He is a force to be reckoned with. When making something like a killer clown movie in contemporary times, you have to be really careful not to make it just straight-up silly. Art the Clown is, of course, pure nightmare-fuel, but when approaching the horror big top, it can unintentionally end up feeling like a mismarketed Goosebumps episode.
This, though, is not a case like that. Pennywise is nightmarish in this. His voice is more sinister, and he reads as a predatory cosmic entity, and not just another slasher villain. Fun and frightening, Pennywise pulls no punches in bringing the horror in Chapter 2.
It’s not unreasonable to think most American horror fans can probably name only one Mexican horror filmmaker: Guillermo del Toro. Given how many fantastic films he’s made and how successful so many of them have been, it’s easy to see how he became a household name, but he’s far from the only Mexican filmmaker with a taste for the macabre. Rubén Galindo Jr. may be a major telenovela producer now, but in the 1980s he wrote and directed independent genre films in Mexico that likely influenced the kind of filmmaker del Toro would become. Galindo Jr. isn’t some obscure figure in Mexican entertainment, but he’s also not as widely known as he should be in horror circles, despite having many of his genre films available from Vinegar Syndrome.
In celebration of Latin Heritage Month, I wanted to shed a light on Galindo Jr.’s films not just because they are a lot of fun, but also because of how underseen they still are. Galindo Jr.’s early films mark a complete departure from the work he does now, so much so that you’d think it’s different people, but his early career genre films were important and part of a familial legacy of both the Galindos and the Cardonas (the royal families of Mexican genre films).
The Galindo Family Legacy in Mexican Horror
Rubén Galindo Jr., as his name suggests, is the son of Mexican filmmaker Rubén Galindo Aguilar. He first entered the film industry as an actor, but joined his family’s production studio to take on a myriad of roles like set designer, accountant, purchasing manager, and more. His directorial debut in 1969 was for a comedy, Un Amante Anda Suelto, and was the first of 47 films he would direct. While his focus wasn’t explicitly horror, he did direct a couple of films starring Luchador and actor Santo, as well as many Mexican westerns before focusing more on distribution in the 1980s. Coincidentally, around the time his young son, Galindo Jr., would begin his own filmmaking career.
Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Journey Into Mexican Genre Cinema
Galindo Jr. began his filmmaking career by leaving his hometown of Mexico City to attend UCLA, only to return to CDMX in 1983 after graduating with a degree in Film and Television Arts & Sciences. His first film, Cementerio Del Terror, was a huge hit despite being a modest production, and it was the first of many independent horror films Galindo Jr. would take on. While his legacy won’t be built upon the work he did in genre, it certainly started there and evolved beyond the underground and into the mainstream over time.
Cementerio Del Terror (1985): Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Horror Debut
Galindo Jr.’s first film is by far one of his most uneven, but in the same vein, also one of the most entertaining. It starts like so many great horror flicks do: on Halloween, as a group of kids decides to steal a body from the morgue, only to disrupt the ghoulish ghost of a serial killer. While graverobbing isn’t exactly the kind of thing many do for fun, this particular endeavor is in service of a satanic ritual that will go awry, thus leading to all kinds of bloodshed and demonic appearances. There’s a sub-plot involving some premonitions of the killer returning from the dead that go ignored, reasonably so, and where things land is your standard house/cemetery of horrors where the kids are met with all kinds of devious and dastardly demons.
The Horror Influences Behind Cementerio del Terror
With a reported budget of 45-65 million pesos (roughly $275,000-$540,000 US dollars), filming started in 1984, and Galindo Jr. was able to wrangle in well-known Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz to star in the production. The film was a huge success for Galindo Jr., even if it wasn’t well-received by critics at the time. Galindo Jr.’s influences are apparent in terms of both content and style, as he clearly draws inspiration from John Carpenter’s Halloween and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. There’s also a heavy helping of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, even if the ghouls at play here aren’t the zombified kind. It’s truly a smorgasbord kind of horror film that never fully commits to one idea, but knows how to weave them together well enough to be entertaining.
The practical effects may seem ropey by today’s standards, but context and time would dictate that these are quite good considering the circumstances and how much of a trailblazer Galindo Jr. was for making this kind of film at this time in Mexico.
Time has been far kinder to this film than critics were, as it averages a 3.0 on Letterboxd and is the recipient of a now sold-out edition from Vinegar Syndrome. In terms of ranking, this is probably B-Tier for Galindo Jr., which is impressive for a debut feature regardless!
Dimensiones Ocultas (Don’t Panic) and Its Influence
Perhaps the best-known of Galindo Jr.’s early genre films, Don’t Panic is without a doubt his best horror effort, and his most derivative. If Cementerio del Terror was riffing on two horror classics, Dimensiones Ocultas riffs on another. This time, it’s Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Following very similar story beats, we follow Michael, who, on his 17th birthday, uses a Ouija board with his friends and accidentally unleashes a demon. This demon isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill possession type; no, this demon haunts you in your dreams! Michael sees these murders before they happen and tries to warn his friends, to no avail.
Why Don’t Panic Remains a Mexican Horror Cult Favorite
There’s a lot to love about Dimensiones Ocultas, and it’s not hard to see why it has become Galindo Jr.’s most notable genre film. From the strange kid-print adult-sized pajamas that Michael wears to the incoherent plotting, it’s not a film that’s going to appeal to those who prefer tight technical filmmaking and single-threaded plot lines. The characters are hard to take seriously, in part because so many of the voices are dubbed, and if this all sounds like reasons not to like this film, you’re sorely mistaken.
The Elm Street influence is endearing in how sloppily it is transcribed here, but it’s also distinct enough to not feel like a complete rip-off. The demon, Virgil, doesn’t really look like Freddy, but if you squint your eyes after a few drinks, you’d probably not be able to tell the difference. The death scenes are creative and at the same time comedic, so it’s not a film that is easy to take seriously, which is a good thing.
While there are no budgetary numbers that are verifiable, Dimensiones Ocultas shows more ambition in terms of effects and ideas than Cementerio, while not really showing much evolution in terms of screenwriting. Galindo Jr. does have better command of the pacing here, and this too has received the amazing Vinegar Syndrome treatment like Cementerio, but is also sadly out of print. A-Tier Galindo Jr.
Ladrones de Tumbas (1989) A Unique Mexican Slasher
Shortly after Dimensiones Ocultas, Galindo Jr. was back at it, directing his third horror feature, Ladrones de Tumbas. Learning a bit from both of his former features, Ladrones feels far more consistent both in terms of plotting and execution. It does tread familiar ground that harkens back to Cementerio, as a group of teenage treasure hunters unknowingly awaken a malevolent entity hell-bent (literally) on bringing forth the spawn of Satan. The spirit systematically takes out the teens one by one in clever, slasher-centric ways, and while it does feel familiar, it’s never repeating the same stuff seen in earlier Galindo Jr. joints. The effects feel far more accomplished, and the story is much easier to follow, all things considered.
The Forgotten History of Mexican Horror Filmmakers
There’s even less information about this film’s production out there, which is more of a reminder that there is still a woeful lack of study around Mexican horror filmmakers that has penetrated the mainstream. Even in preparing for this article, it’s quite difficult to find trusted sources- hell, any sources besides Wikipedia and IMDb. What we do know happens after Ladrones is that Galindo Jr. would begin his distinction from horror and start making his way West to more dramatic and widely accepted fare. There is one more film that Galindo Jr. would helm for horror, possibly two if you consider Resucitaré Para Matarlos in 1991, before making his big pivot. And you guessed it: the Vinegar Syndrome release of Ladrones is very much out of print. S-Tier Galindo Jr.
Mutantes Del Año 2000 (1992) Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Sci-Fi Horror Experiment
Mutantes del Año 2000 is easily the worst of Galindo Jr.’s genre efforts, and it’s largely because it’s kind of a silly premise. It’s a story about a teacher going through an ugly divorce during a time in the future where pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks, and an ex-husband who has been dumping nuclear waste behind the house, mutating the local rodent population. When a giant mutated rat enters the home, the teacher must fight it to stay alive while she’s warding off both the rat and her ex, who wants to keep his nuclear secret. It’s absurd, and it almost feels like Galindo Jr.’s first foray into the more dramatic side of storytelling.
Not only is this one a bit of a slog to get through, but it also loses some of the fun and charm that Galindo Jr.’s previous films exhibited. While the story is a bit more concise and clear, a positive, the delivery leaves a lot to be desired, even if the world-building is somewhat interesting. It’s hard to know, at least without further research or speaking to Galindo Jr. directly, what caused him to fall out of love with genre, but his lack of conviction is apparent here. You can’t fault someone for wanting a change, but I would be remiss not to wonder what it would’ve been like if Galindo Jr. kept refining his abilities for the sake of scares.
Why Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Mexican Horror Films Deserve More Attention
One of the most challenging parts of writing this kind of article is not having enough sources to tell a fully holistic story. Part of this is due to time, as one can only watch so many special features in such a time, but also that there simply aren’t as many primary sources for Mexican horror history and the filmmakers that contributed to it. The fact that so many can’t name more than one Mexican filmmaker says a lot about the lack of information out there, and so if you’re a filmmaker seeking a new topic for a genre documentary, consider Mexican horror. Not only is it fertile ground, but it’s also got a lineage of talent that is still alive to talk about what it was like, something we are reminded of weekly as announcements of deceased horror stars come across our news feeds.
Rubén Galindo Jr. is just one of many who have made their mark on horror in Mexico, and selfishly, I would love to know more about this than what is available. Running a website and working full-time doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else, but it’s important to both remember and celebrate the legacies of those who came before as trailblazers who are just as worthy of our praise as those who become household names.
For more of Matt Orozco’s work, along with many other great horror articles, head on over to Macabre Daily!
