It was around the third or fourth franchise chapters that both Scary Movie and Scream, the horror satire it started out parodying, veered so far into meta humor that they became narratively broken, too self-reflexive to be of interest to anyone but teenagers busy congratulating themselves on every reference they got. Both series peaked early and both sputtered on to diminishing returns before giving up the ghost (sorry) — at least until the IP was dusted off again, to arguable gain in the case of Scream.
Thirteen years have passed since the last Scary Movie, which means there’s been a decade-plus of horror ripe for spoofing. The trouble is that’s all this new entry has to offer. It reassembles the OG quartet of Marlon Wayans’ Shorty, Shawn Wayans’ Ray, Anna Faris’ Cindy and Regina Hall’s Brenda alongside next-generation additions in the form of their high school-age offspring, plus the odd boyfriend or girlfriend. But the actors are reduced to joke machines trapped in a nonsensical nonplot, and while some of those gags yield laughs, a far greater number fall flat.
Scary Movie
The Bottom Line
Past its expiration date.
