The Scary Movie franchise has always been dumb in the smartest way possible. On its best days, it took whatever horror was dominating the culture. It dragged it through a haunted house of stupidity, bodily fluids, celebrity jabs, and jokes that probably shouldn’t have worked as well as they did. At its worst, the series became the very thing it had set out to parody. After twenty-five long years, the Wayans are back to shepherd a new Scary Movie for a new generation. They’re back to remind everyone who they are and what they meant to the franchise.
And they mostly do.
The new Scary Movie takes a shotgun approach to its humor and references. It fires at everything. Scream, obviously. Smile. Elevated horror. Legacy sequels. Requels. Influencer culture. Final girls who over-explain their trauma. Some jokes land with that classic Wayans style, the kind that makes you laugh before you can decide whether you should. Others fly right past you, either because the reference feels too obvious or because the movie is already loading up the next punchline before the last one has had time to breathe.
That is the film’s biggest problem. It tries hard. Sometimes way too hard. There are stretches where it feels like the writers made a checklist of every popular horror franchise from the past five years and refused to leave the room until each one got at least one gag. Paramount’s own horror properties get dragged into the mess, with the recent Scream reboot films and Smile taking some of the most obvious hits. That part makes sense, of course. Scary Movie was born out of a Scream parody. But there are moments when the film becomes so crammed with references that it starts to feel less like a movie and more like someone trying to win a bet on how many they can fit in.
And yet, when the movie slows down just enough to focus on itself, it becomes a blast.
The Wayans return for a new chaotic Scary Movie that spoofs modern horror with messy, offensive, and often hilarious results.
True to their word, the Wayans go after everyone. No one is safe, and that gives the reboot a spark most modern studio comedies are too nervous to touch. The humor is rude, stupid, occasionally gross, and absolutely designed to offend as many people as possible. Not every joke works, but something is refreshing about watching a comedy swing with that kind of shameless confidence again.
The characters are also a mixed bag at first, though the movie slowly reveals that this is kind of the point. The new younger characters are annoying, loud, and constantly trying to prove they belong in a franchise that clearly doesn’t need them. That could’ve been unbearable, but Scary Movie turns it into a joke. Its message that no one can replace the legacy characters is blunt but also very true.
That’s also why it’s frustrating that the legacy cast doesn’t get more screen time. Whenever Cindy, Brenda, Shorty, Ray, Gail, and Doofy are back on screen doing deeply stupid things again, the movie comes alive. Their timing, weirdness, and complete lack of shame instantly remind you why these characters became so memorable in the first place. The reboot knows they are the main attraction. It just does not always give them enough room to take over.
Overall, Scary Movie is messy, overloaded, and desperate to hit every target in sight. Yet, despite its flaws, Scary Movie is funnier and more alive than it has any right to be. Because when the joke hits, it hits hard. The Wayans may not fully reinvent the franchise, but they do bring back its reckless, ridiculous soul. And after years of horror getting more serious and polished, watching Scary Movie act like a complete idiot again feels pretty damn good.
Rating: 3/5 atoms
Scary Movie hits theaters on June 5th.
