Scary Movie

It has been 13 years since the last edition in the “Scary Movie” franchise, and now, in 2026, we have one of the strangest legacy sequels to ever exist. After the last three sequels offered diminishing returns, the main creative team from the first and second films, Marlon Wayans and (almost) the entire Wayans family, attempt to bring back the so-called magic of the original two films—an attempt to cross every line of comedy.

I did not grow up with these films like many audiences who will be seeing this; I watched the original a few years ago, and I just recently watched the rest. I do not think any of these films are actually particularly good, but I do get enjoyment out of the first three. My most animalistic comedic tastes are mostly satisfied by them, and my personal favorite is the second. The other two, while I think they both have funny moments, especially the opening of 4 (that comes into play in this legacy sequel in a genuinely fantastic way.) The 5th film cut out the entire original cast, replacing Anna Faris with Ashley Tisdale (now French). So really because 5 has no significance here or impact on the world, it’s really been 20 years since the last “Scary Movie."

That makes this legacy sequel, or as it’s called in the film, a "Rebootyquel," so strange to me. It brings back this long-forgotten form of 2000s stoner comedy while also using the already meta framework of recent legacy sequel “Scream 5" as the anchor story while also throwing in elements of the 6th "Scream." The Wayans and director Michael Tiddes do a strong job of recreating these scenes from “Scream 5” and 6, and I get why they chose this formatting since it’s the main iconography remembered from the original film, but it really makes no sense to be spoofing an already incredibly meta film and making it even more self-referential. Many bizarre choices for the anchor films have been made throughout the years, such as the third being based on The Ring” and “Signs” but also being inspired by “The Matrix,” and while I get why they went with "Scream," I think something with a more precise plot like “Weapons” would have worked better.

The OG cast all feel excited to be back and are bringing their all. Anna Faris and Regina Hall have always been and still are the headliners of the series as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks. They have a lot of great moments to shine here, but they do feel a little lost in the mix at times because of how enormous the ensemble is. 

Shawn Wayans returns as Ray Wilkins with his singular joke of being gay and denying it. It’s a joke that was funny in the original and is funny at moments here, but there are other points, especially a “Sinners” parody involving it, that verge on insufferable. 

Marlon Wayans is back as Shorty too, of course, who is borderline the main character this time around. Taking the comedic sidekick and making them the main character in a sequel is often a bad idea, but in a movie like this it works very well, and Shorty definitely has the best bits in the movie, including an insane “Get Out” drug trip, “Candyman” and a Kai Cenat bit that is better than it has any right to be. 

We also have some fan-favorite classic characters returning, such as Cheri Oteri as Gail Hailstorm, Dave Sheridan as Doofy Gilmore and Chris Elliot as Hanson, now parodying "Longlegs." I didn’t enjoy Gail and Doofy in the original, and they are worse here. Whereas I really enjoyed Hanson in the second film, and I found his small part here funny. 

Like most legacy sequels, we also have a new young cast coming in to attempt to “fill the shoes” of the OGs. Of these, Cameron Scott Roberts does a great Jack Quaid impression, and Sydney Park is fun as Dei Meeks, but because of her unfortunate name, they have some of the most annoying jokes in the film. The best of the new cast without a doubt, though, is Olivia Rose Keegan as Cindy’s daughter Sara, who manages to channel Faris phenomenally well.

As for the main draw, the comedy, it is hit or miss. There are five major quadrants of comedy that the film relies on: meta humor, references, social commentary, sex/drugs and absurdity. The references tackle most recent horror hits such as “Final Destination: Bloodlines," "Longlegs," “The Substance," “Get Out," "Smile," "Sinners," "Weapons," "Wednesday," "Terrifier," "M3GAN," and "Halloween." Parts of it I enjoy, mainly the "Weapons," "Get Out," and "Bloodlines" parodies along with a non-horror movie that I won’t name. However, a lot of these fall flat and almost feel like scenes from the worst of the worst parody movies, where they are not actually making a joke and only relying on having a recognizable thing there rather than doing something funny with it. 

The sex/drugs bits are nothing too special; they are what they say on the tin, and for the most part are funny! The meta humor is strange, mostly being the characters saying they are in a movie and how silly it is that they’re making it. I agree “Scary Movie 6” is a stupid thing to make, yes, but I bought a ticket; I want to see “Scary Movie 6." 

The social commentary is by far the worst part of this film. There are jokes about COVID, #MeToo, ChatGPT, ICE raids, January 6, live streamers, the Epstein files and Kendrick-Drake beef. I find the latter 3 amusing, but it’s only Shorty’s streamer bit that fully hit for me. Then you have the DEI scene on the subway that’s in all the trailers, joking about pronouns. I don’t think it comes from a bad place; these movies have always made fun of everybody, and knowing Marlon Wayans's personal life and his support of his trans son, they can’t be too malicious, but from a humor standpoint they simply fall flat because the punchline isn’t written well. 

Where the film excels the most, though, is definitely in the absurdity—when the film just goes all in on the weird. This is where I am having a great time, and I feel like I’m being transported back to the 2000s when these films were smashing the box office.

“Scary Movie” is undeniably one of the strangest film series of all time; there are a lot of bad jokes, and none of them can be called definitively good, but there are bits all throughout the series, including this film, that give me immense joy, and I am happy this got to be made. Here’s to the return of the parody movie! 

5/10