Scary Movie raises the dead, mostly: A spoiler-free review of the latest horror-parody
- Jack Walters
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
With the trend of the grisliest horror headliner franchises having soft reboots which involve the original main cast passing the torch on to a younger generation, inevitably the deconstruction of the trope arrives, as shown by the sixth installment of the Scary Movie franchise. Scary Movie- technically Scary Movie 6- takes that trope and mocks it to high heaven, with plenty of humor and an irreverent tone about even the most grim horror moments. The film has plenty of perfectly-placed throwbacks to both the previous films and plenty of modern ones, but while horror cinephiles will enjoy it enough, the humor rarely reaches the wildness of the earlier entries, and the pacing sometimes feels odd.
For those too young to have experienced the previous movies (it’s been a lucky 13 years since the last one), Scary Movie was born during a gut-busting glut of parody movies poking fun at the Hollywood blockbusters of the time. While the series mutated in time with its ‘victims,’ films such as Saw and Scream, as well as non-horror films such as The Matrix, the film's raunchy, irreverent humor and wild takes on popular horror movies often entertain.s While the cast and crew have fluctuated, Scary Movie is the first film since the second to have all four original actors reprise their roles. Marlon Wayans reprises his role as stoner “Shorty,” Shawn Wayans reprises his role as semi-closeted Ray Wilkins, Anna Faris as “final girl” Cindy Campbell, and inexplicably-resurrected BFF Regina Hall reprising her role as Brenda Meeks. All four are clearly eager to be back in action, and they’re joined by a bevy of solid actors, many of whom are either reprising roles (such as Dave Sheridan’s “Special officer” Doofy) or celebrity cameos. The acting is strong and there’s a clear sense of fun, which makes the film amusing, but some of the newer characters feel a bit flat, which might simply be a casualty of the film’s focus on the “soft reboot.”
While the acting is solid, the film’s humor and grasp of parodies do most of its work, and it mostly works well. While not quite laugh-out-loud, the cheek-tonguing humor makes for a satisfying time for fans of the series. The film relies on its parodies of recent horror movies, with a focus on three: Scream 6, the recent Halloween trilogy, and Sinners. Many scenes are twisted takes on some of the most iconic scenes of all three films, but with healthy dashes of countless other hits and misses, including a few unexpected gems that made for some of the funniest moments in the film. However, the main three are constant, which makes the plot a little predictable and at times throws the pacing feel off, especially its reliance on Scream 6 (not to be confused with the more recent Scream 7.) Scary Movie never feels unpleasant or unfun. At its best, the film embraces the absurd and leans into its parody movie nature. There are times, however, where the humor feels a little flat. It’s fair amount of raunchy adult humor, mild toilet humor (which the author found surprisingly minimal) and political humor occasionally don’t get the same shock response they would have in earlier years. By the end of the film, there seemed to be almost a bitter aftertaste to some of it which left the author wondering if he’d missed the humor, but not so much that it spoiled the film.
Parody films give us a chance to take a step back from the chills and thrills we love and laugh at the absurdity inherent with our favorite tropes and topics. Scary Movie does this well enough, and at its best, the film's most fun moments and its passion will give fans of the series a craving for their old favorites. While the pacing and some of the humor falls flat, and the film’s more cynical take on a few modern horror elements might leave an odd aftertaste, Scary Movie fits in amidst the series as a solid source of fun on a Saturday afternoon, and it might have you dusting off those old favorites for Saturday night.