Often considered the weakest entry in the long running franchise, Scream 3 was supposed to mark the end of the iconic series. This time, the film takes place in Hollywood, which is the location of the parody film, Stab 3. Life takes an unexpected turn when Ghostface decides to kill off the cast in the order the screenplay. Sid Prescott must track down the latest serial killer, and she’ll discover the shocking truth along the way.
That shocking truth ended up being Roman Bridger is the abandoned son of Maureen Prescott. It was revealed that Roman was the mastermind behind his legitimate mother’s murder. It was an fascinating twist that had some potential, but ultimately, Roman Bridger didn’t have the impact that it was supposed to. He felt flat as the Ghostface Killer and remains the worse version in the Scream franchise so far.
The Backstory Of Roman Bridger Is Great
The character itself is pretty strong. Bridger being revealed as the abandoned son of Maureen Prescott is a complex narrative that I wish the franchise dug deeper into. Maureen being raped is a tragic scenario, though it’s understandable why she doesn’t want to have anything to do with Roman. When she sees him, Maureen sees the man that took her innocence away. On the flip side, it’s also understandable why Roman would feel so hurt and jaded over his actions of his mother.
He did nothing wrong to her. He’s was just an innocent child who born under an unfortunate set of circumstances. The anger over his mother abandoning is a sympathetic plight that makes you feel bad for the villain. Of course, his actions are anything but good; however, Roman’s motivation and hatred for Sidney is warranted. The problem comes with the fact that this is the very first time we’re hearing about this.
We Should’ve Been Clued In About Maureen’s Past Sooner
Maureen Prescott was a central figure of the first three films. Though the character was never shown onscreen, she’s the catalyst for why Billy went insane. All we knew about Maureen is that she was a whore, who was murdered. Kevin Williamson should’ve planted seeds about Maureen’s past that led to the Roman Bridger reveal. Him being unmasked as the latest psycho to stalk Sidney Prescott would’ve had more weight if we knew he existed in the first place. In fact, it would’ve been great if Sidney sought out her long lost brother instead taking this Hollywood approach.
One of the biggest issues with Scream 3 is that it turns into a generic slasher. It doesn’t subvert expectations nor have the cleverness that was presented in the first two films. If Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson allow audiences to get to know Roman first before it’s revealed that he’s Ghostface then it would’ve given the reveal more gravitas because we connected with him before such a shocking moment. The mystery angle could’ve still been intact and Craven could’ve had fun with this angle throughout the film.
It Would’ve Given Sidney’s Character Some Better Closure
We didn’t need to see Roman trying to convince Billy to murder Maureen. But if the focus was going to be so heavily on Maureen Prescott, there should’ve been a stronger desire for Sidney to understand what happened. Sidney didn’t know that Billy killed her mother until the very end of Scream. I don’t want the original film to change because Scream is a masterpiece that doesn’t need to be touched. However, if all roads were going to lead to Roman Bridger being the brainchild for all of Sidney’s trauma then the first two films should’ve better built to the third film.
All the pieces of the puzzles are there. Him framing Cotton Weary as the original murderer. The strange disappearance of Sidney’s dad after the first film. I know that’s the case of the writers not having anything for Mr. Prescott, but they really could’ve played with that angle as well. Roman Bridger had all the tools to be an excellent villain. However, it was clear that Scream wasn’t really meant to be a three film franchise. Never mind the numerous changes that were made to the third script, as this story arc should’ve been written the moment Scream was finalized. It’s a shame Roman Bridger will always be remembered as the weakest Ghostface in the Scream series by most.
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