3 in a Row: The Movies That Made Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell is a film and television actor who got her start on a hit show called Party of Five before bursting onto the big screen, dominating the late 90s box office.

Fame is a fickle beast and for many in the film industry, managing to ride the train for even more than a movie or two is a real accomplishment. Few movie stars really make it last much beyond a couple of years, most getting a hot role that opens doors to a short career, though some are able to be winners in the game for a surprisingly long time. Neve Campbell is by no means an unknown in 2018, but it’s fair to say she peaked in the late 90s, her short run as a movie star blazing hot but rather brief, even though her work on screen is well-remembered and still influential. For this first installment of our new series 3 in a Row, we take a look at the three movies in a row Campbell starred in that made her a sudden household name. And it begins with a fight for her life.

SCREAM

If you were alive and watching movies in the 90s, you probably remember the impact of 1996’s era-defining Scream, a horror movie from director Wes Craven that spun the whole genre on its head. Ostensibly a satire, it was actually a clever and genuinely scary horror film that poked fun at the tropes of the genre while playing right into them. Campbell is Sidney Prescott, a high school girl dealing with the anniversary of her mother’s murder, only to be right in the middle of a new spree as her friends begin to meet their demise at the wrong end of a big knife. A figure in a Halloween costume is said to be the killer and it’s up to Sidney to reveal who it is. While the ‘final girl’ trope is probably the most pronounced of the horror genre, Campbell manages to give it homage while breathing life into it, her girl-next-door appeal one thing but her take on the mournful daughter and vulnerable victim that earns our deepest sympathy. This would be Campbell’s first starring role and her performance absolutely grounds the story and makes Scream instantly memorable. Which is why …

SCREAM 2

The following year, the story gets its first sequel, with Campbell back as the lead, Sidney now a college student and facing off against a copycat killer in the same ‘ghostface’ costume made famous in the first. Again, director Wes Craven takes aim at the horror genre, this time the clichés of the sequel, for the most part crafting a funny and scary second-parter with some bite. While some of it becomes obvious, and the initial thrill of the original is gone, it’s a surprisingly effective movie that hits the right beats throughout. However, it’s Campbell who is the glue, her choice to come back (contractually bound in fact) the only reason this works at all, her character now familiar but grown up a bit with Campbell able to flesh out more of the trauma in order to really sell the fear. Campbell makes Sidney one of the best ‘girls’ in horror, her innocence and inner struggles with sorrow instantly galvanizing, making audiences feel genuinely invested. While the series began to weaken in the next two installments (2002’s Scream 3 and 2011’s Scream 4), there is no damaging the immeasurable presence of Sidney Prescott, one of the most beloved characters in horror, made so by the great work of Campbell. And it’s with that, she lures us into a trap with …

WILD THINGS

Admittedly, director John McNaughton‘s 1998 thriller Wild Things is probably best known for putting the alluring Denise Richards on the map, the young woman’s nude scenes and sweat-inducing sexual presence in the film earning it a lot of heated attention (count us in that group). However, Campbell is the real star, and anyone who appreciates the movie for its story rather than it’s abundant skin easily walks away stung by how impressive she is as the whole thing – and its many secrets – unfold. Playing rightfully into the expectations of her work as Sidney Prescott in the Scream movies, she has us convinced from the start about what and who she is. While Campbell might not go for the overtly sexual BAM that Richards does, she is nonetheless far more appealing for it, a smoldering want about her that really stokes some fires (count us in that group, too). Campbell seems to really be having some fun with the complex character of Suzie Toller, a girl with all kinds of WTF?, making her an absolute joy to watch for fans of the dark genre. It’s well, wild.

THE AFTERMATH

While the years since Wild Things have certainly seen some simmering down of her box office appeal, Campbell has kept remarkably busy, shifting mostly to television where she got her start. Most know her now for her role in House of Cards among others. Still, her work on the big screen in the late 90s is indelible, forging one of the most memorable rises in cinema, leaving behind a trio of amazing movies that shaped great change in the industry. What are some of your favorite neve Campbell roles?