Scary Movie (2026): Another Entry That Struggles to Get Any Laughs (4K)

The Movie:

When The Wayans Brothers gave us the first two "Scary Movie" films back in 2000 & 2001, they were decent box office hits, but as always, that doesn't necessarily mean the films were particularly good. Indeed, the first two films have perhaps a handful of amusing moments, but for the most part, they struggled greatly to deliver any good laughs. After The Wayans departed over creative differences with the producers, the series was handed over to David Zucker and writers Craig Mazin & Pat Proft, who gave us the best entry of the lot with "Scary Movie 3." However, the series quickly started to decline again with the fourth and fifth entries, where the various creative teams once again struggled to produce any laughs.

Now, after a rather lengthy 13-year hiatus, The Wayans have once again assumed control of the franchise in order to give us the sixth entry, simply titled "Scary Movie" (a subtle jab at how "Scream 5" was given the ridiculous title of just "Scream"). As mentioned, their entries did have some decent parts, but had great difficulty creating consistency with their comedy. With 25 long years having gone by since they last tried, will they be able to deliver a parody that was worth the resurrection of this long-dormant series?

The film begins with Tuesday Campbell (Savannah Lee Nassif) getting attacked by Ghostface and ending up in the hospital, where she's visited by her sister Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and Sara's boyfriend Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts). They quickly begin to suspect that the attack is similar to the original Ghostface killings from several years ago, leading them to visit Sara's mother Cindy (Anna Faris), who decides to stay put as she believes that the killer merely wants to lure her out. Pretty soon Sara and Jack themselves are attacked by Ghostface at the hospital, though they too manage to survive. Afterward, they visit the original Ghostface, Doofy Gilmore (Dave Sheridan), which eventually leads to a meeting of all our characters, including the reclusive Cindy, to discuss "the plot." Can they discover the identity of the killer & their motive before they claim more victims?

From the very start, "Scary Movie" doesn't give any false impression as to what level the writers are going to be operating from. In an opening that directly parodies "Scream VI," we are treated to a non-stop avalanche of lazy, crude, and above all, unfunny jokes & gags that let you know just what you're getting into, and indeed that's the exact level the film continues at for its 90-minute duration. It basically throws everything it can at the wall in rapid succession, praying that something out of its deluge of attempted humor will stick, but sadly not one joke in the entire film lands, though it's hardly a surprise when this little effort is put into the comedy.

As far as that effort goes, the screenwriters (four Wayans Brothers and Rick Alvarez) rely far too much on parodying as many movies as they can (and doing a poor job of it), including "Sinners," "Get Out," "M3GAN," "KPop Demon Hunters, "The Substance," "Weapons," and "Terrifier," while also throwing in outdated COVID jokes and tasteless J6 references. All that's to say that, if anything, the Wayans Brothers level of humor only seems to have gotten considerably worse in the 25 years since they gave us "Scary Movie 2," but at least that had a few mildly-amusing moments in it.

Of course, no one has ever come to expect any kind of elevated level of humor when it comes to these films, but it's more than reasonable to expect them to try and go beyond "What are the stupidest possible jokes we can tell in this scene?". When the credits start to roll after the onslaught of sad jokes, you'll likely feel grateful that it's over, which is never a good sign for a film that's trying to lighten your spirits with a bit of comedy. The somewhat unfortunate part is, with it being a massive hit at the box office (amassing nearly 8x its budget), there will very likely be another sequel, ultimately leaving us with the hope that either the writers will learn from their mistakes here, or that someone with a better sense of humor will be given a chance to take a crack at it and perhaps finally give us another decent entry in a series that has struggled for far too long to deliver consistently on its intriguing concept.

Video/Audio:

"Scary Movie" comes to 4K in a 2.39:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of excellent quality, giving you a beautifully sharp & clear picture throughout its entire 95-minute duration. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Paramount has done a marvelous job in both departments for the film's 4K debut.

Special Features:

Scream Together (8 Minutes): The cast & crew look back on the franchise.

Fresh Meat (6 Minutes): A featurette that looks at the new cast members.

Wayans World (5 Minutes): A featurette that explores the multitude of Wayans involved in the project.

Scene Dissection (9 Minutes): A featurette that delves into the film's opening scene.

Conclusion:

Michael Tiddes' "Scary Movie" is another unfortunate entry in the long-dormant franchise that struggles greatly to get even a chuckle with its non-stop deluge of lazy, crude, cringing, and worst of all, unfunny jokes & gags, while also relying far too much on a plethora of poorly-done movie parodies, ultimately making for a laugh-free 90 minutes that will have you feeling grateful to see the credits roll.

Score: 1.5/5

Available on 4K starting tomorrow.

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