Scream 3 ending, explained
scream 3 often sits at the bottom end of fan franchise rankings, and for good reason. The introduction of supernatural elements, as well as the obvious sci-fi nature of the killer’s voice-changing device, sets the film apart from its predecessors. The film also takes a very melodramatic shift in tone away from the explicit horror of previous entries, the result of a new writer and a massive rewrite after the Columbine massacre. Now that time has passed, and three more Scream When new movies come out, it’s easier to see some of the highlights of that franchise’s black sheep.
It has been two years since Sidney survived the Windsor College massacre and she has resolved never to have that experience again. Sidney lives alone with her golden retriever, Cherokee, in a remote cabin in the hills of Monterey, California, where she works remotely as a crisis counselor for a hotline for battered women. Life is quiet, but Sidney is plagued by nightmarish visions of her dead mother and fears that someone somewhere is plotting another killing spree that will center on her.
The massacre begins
Meanwhile, in Hollywood, former suspect-turned-hero Cotton Weary lives as a celebrity talk show host. One night, after receiving a disturbing phone call from his girlfriend Christine, Cotton rushes home, but they are both murdered by another new Ghostface, and so it begins Scream cycle new.
The murder prompts Detective Mark Kincaid to contact journalist and Ghostface expert Gale Weathers, who immediately heads to Hollywood to investigate. There she reunites with former Deputy Dewey Cox, who is serving as a creative advisor on the production of Stitch 3: Return to Woodsboro. However, production comes to a screeching halt stitch 3 Actress Sarah Darling is murdered at Sunrise Studios.
To mourn the loss of her co-star — and more importantly, the loss of hers prick Roles – The rest of the cast, along with Dewey and Gale, get together at actress Jennifer Jolie’s home. Outside, Jennifer’s bodyguard, Steven Stone, is examining Dewey’s trailer when he is stabbed in the back by Ghostface. The man stumbles to the front door before collapsing dead in front of everyone.
Ghostface interrupts the stream before beginning to fax script rewrites stitch 3 this promise to declare to whom he will show mercy; the actor plays prickTurns out Dewey’s Tom Prinze is the unlucky one. When he takes out his lighter to read the last fax page in the dark, it turns out that the killer caused a gas leak and the entire building explodes in a massive fireball.
Ghostface lures Sidney out
Back in Monterey, Sidney gets a call from this new Ghostface. He knows where she is and has already started his killing spree. She arrives in Hollywood and meets up with her friends at Sunrise Studios, where they are all surprised to see Randy’s sister, Martha. She gives them a tape that Randy recorded before he died scream 2. inside, he explains that they are in the last film of a trilogy. This means anyone can die, even Sidney, and everything we thought we knew about the past isn’t true.
Later, Sidney trips over the void prick and transformed into a near-perfect replica of their Woodsboro home. She is attacked by Ghostface and chased through the sets, but when Sidney finally finds Dewey and the police, the killer is nowhere to be found. Sidney stays at the police station with Detective Kincaid while the rest of the cast, Gale and Dewey, attend a birthday party hosted by scruffy horror producer John Milton stitch 3‘s director, Roman Bridger.
When everyone is together, the bloodbath begins. Ghostface kills the cast members one by one, holds Gale and Dewey hostage, and lures Sidney to the Hollywood mansion. There, the killer turns out to be none other than Roman. With Sidney held captive, the director explains the sinister motives behind his crimes.
Why did Roman become Ghostface?
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Sidney’s mother, Maureen, had a brief stint as a B-list actress, having appeared in several of Milton’s films under the alias Rina Reynolds. In a prescient turn of events in light of the Me Too movement, the aspiring actress was assaulted and raped during one of the producer’s usual Hollywood parties. The baby she later gave birth to and put up for adoption would be named Roman Bridger.
Before the events of the original Scream, Roman tracked down Maureen in Woodsboro hoping for a loving reunion. Instead, Maureen wanted nothing to do with her illegitimate son. Furious at this rejection, Roman pursued Maureen and filmed her affairs, including that with Billy Loomis’ father, Hank. Roman showed Billy this tape, motivating him to kill Maureen and start his murder spree.
But something about Roman’s plan wasn’t working the way he’d hoped. Sidney survived twice and achieved the fame that was elusive. And so Roman hatched one last plan: lure Sidney out of hiding and cast her as the killer, leaving him the sole survivor. Outraged that Roman blames her for his poor life choices, Sidney provokes him into a fight.
Roman shoots Sidney in the chest and for a moment it seems like our heroine is no more. But this isn’t Sidney’s first horror film. Protected from being shot by a bulletproof vest, Sidney sneaks up on Roman and stabs him several times. To finish off the killer, Dewey then shoots him in the head.
scream 3 ends with Sidney, Mark, Dewey and Gale back at Sidney’s house in Monterey. Dewey and Gale get engaged and the four sit down to watch a movie together. As Sidney enters the room, a door squeaks open behind her to the outside. No longer afraid, Sidney smiles and leaves the door open, symbolizing that she has overcome the fear and paranoia she has been living with since her mother’s death.
While scream 3 is easy to hate, it’s so refreshing and satisfying to see Sidney finally come to a conclusion.
