Scary Movie

Scary Movie
Starring Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall
Directed by Michael Tiddes

Back in 2000, The Wayans Brothers brought "Scary Movie" to the big screens focusing on parodying iconic horror films such as "Scream," and it was a huge success - so much so it spawned numerous not-so-great imitators like "Dance Movie," "Date Movie," "Epic Movie," and the like. They followed up their original hit with another banger in 2001's "Scary Movie 2," but then the Wayans left the franchise for the PG-13 friendly "Scary Movie 3" and "Scary Movie 4" in 2003 and 2006 respectively. Then the franchise took its seemingly death knell with 2013's abysmal, unfunny, all-around horrible "Scary Movie 5," and with that the parody subgenre essentially came to an end. Then 2025's "The Naked Gun" re-vitalized the subgenre, and then the Wayans Brothers returned (along with Anna Faris and Regina Hall) for 2026's "Scary Movie 6" (aka "Scary Movie"), and the buzz around it was palpable. Sadly, lightning hasn't struck again, and their latest outing is filled with more crickets than cackles of laughter, even though it's better than a few of its predecessors. 

Over a decade after Ghostface terrorized Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her friends Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) and Shorty Meeks (Marlon Wayans), he returns after attacking Cindy's estranged daughter Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), causing her sister Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and her boyfriend Jack (Cameron Scott Rogers) back to town, where Ghostface continues his carnage of terror - and laughs.

My excitement was high for "Scary Movie" because I loved how the original spoofed some of my favorite horror movies, and it's been over ten years since they've done it. Since then we've gotten horror greats like "Hereditary," "Midsommar," "The Babadook" and "It Follows" - and none of those movies are skewered here. Instead, they return to the "Scream" well by centering the story around "Scream 5" and a fantastic opening taken from "Scream 6" that is sadly the best part of the entire movie, featuring a surprise cameo that works so incredibly well. After that, the film falters in the middle act where, instead of focusing on the narrative it began with, delves into SNL sketches that don't add up to a lot in regards to the story before coming back together in the end for a nonsensical (but still funny) conclusion.

It's like the Wayans tacked up different horror movies of the last ten years on one side, basic jokes on the other, and used string to connect them with no rhyme or reason. "Weapons," "The Substance" and "Longlegs" are given side quest stories that move disjointedly from one scene to another before coming back to the "Scream" beginning, with other horror movies like "Sinners," "Final Destination: Bloodlines" and "Get Out" are also incorporated in off-kilter ways. It's a tonal mess that has some laughs that really land, but I found myself in long stretches of silence.

It's great having the original gang back, but they're often sidelined in favor of a new, young cast (including Olivia Rose Keegan who plays Cindy's estranged daughter who not only looks like Faris but sounds a lot like her) who attempt to take over the franchise from the OGs. Yet when the Wayans Brothers, Faris, and Hall (a surprise return considering the recent awards-worthy films she's worked on) come on screen, it's back to the old magic that made "Scary Movie" in 2000 such an iconic comedy. Sadly, it's few and far-between, and in focusing on numerous other characters and jokes aplently,it becomes an unfunny slog that feels longer than the runtime. That's not to say it's bad, but very, very disappointing.

The Score: B-