IF Return Of The Jedi, Jaws 3D, The Godfather Part III and Batman Forever taught us anything, it's that the third films in movie series are always poor imitations of their predecessors.

So what are we to nake of Scream3? In the second instalment of Wes Craven's horror franchise, film geek Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) notes that "Sequels suck!" just before he is sliced and diced by the knife-wielding psycho in the Munch mask.

He makes an unexpected re-appearance in Scream 3 via a posthumous video message, to impart a few key facts about movie trilogies to the remaining survivors - plucky Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), tabloid hack Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox Arquette) and loveable cop Dwight 'Dewey' Riley (David Arquette).

"One: you got a killer who's gonna be super-human. Stabbing him won't work, shooting him won't work, basically in the third one, you gotta cryogenically freeze his head, decapitate him or blow him up. Number two: anyone including the main character can die. This means you, Sid. I'm sorry, it's the final chapter. Number three: the past will come back to bite you."

And that's just about right - except that Scream 3 lacks even the most basic thrills and shocks.

Screenwriter Ehren Kruger, filling in for the wayward Kevin Williamson, floods the film with so many red herrings that it becomes impossible to guess the killer's identity or motivation. The central trio have settled into their roles and sleepwalk through the film, looking almost as bored on screen as we feel after the first half hour. The supporting cast is one-dimensional and instantly forgettable and the final unmasking is like some awful live action take off of Scooby Doo, complete with convoluted explanation of why the killer has been such a naughty boy/girl.

The Scream series has finally become the very thing it was created to mock: a brainless, clumsy slashathon.