A serial killer is ravaging a town that is home to a group of idiotic teenagers. The murders began one year after the group of teens murdered a man, and they can’t help but to think that somehow the events are related. As the murders continue they begin to realize that their lives, too, are in danger. Scary Movie pulls from a series of actual horror films to create one, less-than-cohesive story of death and destruction.
Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer are two successful, but understandably strange horror films (and each had at least one sequel). In the mid-1990’s these films took the world by storm, and they still entertain viewers to this day. The reality, however, is that each of those two films were full of plot holes, poor acting (on occasion), and some honestly silly storylines. Scary Movie is a parody of those aforementioned films, and writers Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Buddy Johnson (and the others), along with director Keenen Ivory Wayans, aim to exploit the numerous mistakes of those films. They do just that throughout the course of Scary Movie, and they bring these stories back to life with immense hilarity.
Scary Movie is riddled with poor acting–sort of. The acting appears poor throughout, however, I believe that this is done intentionally to mirror the struggles of those aforementioned horror films. So, the fact that these young actors–Anna Faris (Cindy), Jon Abrahams (Bobby), Regina Hall (Brenda), M. Wayans (Shorty), etc.–are capable of stepping beyond their own abilities and tapping into the cheesiness of those 90’s horror films isn’t anything at which to stick up your nose. Even though these performances have their cringeworthy moments, I have to say that the ability of each of these unestablished (unestablished at the time) actors is rather impressive.
There are moments in Scary Movie that are completely irrelevant to the plot and have no bearing on the greater story present in the film. Random characters or racist lines serve essentially no purpose other than to entertain viewers, and each of these instances delivers wonderfully. My wonderful wife struggles to appreciate stupid humor, of which Scary Movie is full–but even she laughed on occasion at the randomness of some of the things that occurred throughout the film, and that’s something. The series of writers and the famously funny director find ways to appeal to viewers of all walks of life due to the wide array of comedic types–including satire, black, and slapstick.
There’s no question that Scary Movie isn’t a fantastic film–but it possesses comedic and cinematic value. The comedy transcends all audiences and it allows numerous viewers, from many walks of life to appreciate what it is that the film and its cast and crew are able to accomplish. The storyline is silly, but incredibly similar to the two horror films that were mentioned earlier–essentially exploiting those films to a degree and expressing how ridiculous certain points of those films were. The cinematography is acceptable and captures the action-related sequences and adds some suspense to the comedy film. Scary Movie isn’t a film that transcends generations, but its comedy is worth a viewing and will allow viewers who grew up with it to continue to appreciate it for what it’s worth.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Written by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, & Aaron Seltzer.
Starring Anna Faris, Jon Abrahams, Rick Ducommun, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shannon Elizabeth, Shawn Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Dave Sheridan, Carmen Electra, Lloyd Berry, Cheri Oteri, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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