8 Most Criminally Unloved Slasher Movie Sequels

8. Scream 3

Out of all the slasher franchises, the Scream series is the one story that falters the least - from the first’s ground-breaking rule-setting, all the way to Scream 4’s exuberant reboot of the original trio Sidney, Gale, and Dewey in a new smartphone-obsessed world. But somewhere in between, we have Scream 3, which in a lot of people’s eyes is the worst instalment by a long-stretch. And mostly, these criticisms are not entirely wrong.

By this third film, Wes Craven had taken all the right things about Scream being a somewhat light-hearted parody, and wrongfully made it far too goofy and corny. There’s some strange outfit choices, some cheesy sound effects in moments where they shouldn’t be, and the plot is centred around Stab 3 - the new movie adaptation of the Woodsboro murders that stars a bunch of thinly-developed lookalike actors.

Saying all that, despite all of its flaws, it’s still a greatly loveable watch, and that’s down to the genius craft of Wes Craven who once again proved that even when he’s not on best form he still knows how to take audiences on an amusing horror ride. There’s a lot of brilliant iconic moments that fans of the franchise won’t forget - including a bunch of funny cameos and a dramatic ending that’s executed just as finely as its two predecessors.

So despite its dodgy reputation, there’s nothing major in the end-product that is totally unforgivable. Actually, crap that... Courtney Cox’s short bangs…