This article contains spoilers for the new “Scary Movie.”
What’s your favorite Scary Movie?
No, not like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or “Friday the 13th” — more like the one where Anna Faris gets into a fist fight with a cat or the one where Regina Hall gets stabbed for talking in the theater. Yes, I’m talking about the parody movies of the 2000s (and one from the early 2010s) that sent up the reigning horror tropes along with any major pop culture moments of the year.
What began as a Wayans Brothers comedy spoof of ’90s horror expanded into a full franchise beloved by some and loathed by others for its occasionally sharp satire, mixed in with blue comedy and equal-opportunity offensive humor. The Wayans family were not involved after “Scary Movie 2” because of contract disputes, and the franchise was handed off to the director David Zucker (of “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” fame). The new film (in theaters) marks the Wayans’ return to the pop phenomenon they created.
A look back at these films reveals not timeless humor but in fact the exact opposite: references that are so delightfully dated that each film becomes a perfect time capsule of when it was made. As the killer in the goofy Ghostface mask claws his way back from the grave once again, here’s a recap of all the gags, goofs and groan-worthy bits that came before — and an explanation of where the new one fits in.
‘Scary Movie’ (2000)
It all began with a (relatively) focused target: the teen slasher movies of the ’90s. Combining plot points from “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” this first movie follows a group of teens with a horrible secret. Along the way, it pokes fun at tropes like the inept killer (“I gotta stop drinking,” Ghostface declares after falling repeatedly during a chase sequence); the conveniently sexed up victim (the opening sequence sees Carmen Electra, stripped to her underwear, bouncing in slow motion through lawn sprinklers); and the virginal final girl (Cindy, played by Anna Faris, reveals she has an electric fence and a sign that says “no trespassing” around her crotch).
Notable pop culture references include a James Van Der Beek cameo for a “Dawson’s Creek” joke, Cindy being devastated by Geri Halliwell’s departure from the Spice Girls and, most shockingly, Brenda (Regina Hall) saying she went to a party at Puff Daddy’s house where things got “freaky.”
‘Scary Movie 2’ (2001)
The second film returned to take aim at supernatural horror movies, this time largely riffing on creepy mansion movies like “The Haunting” and “House on Haunted Hill.” Tim Curry and David Cross play a scheming professor and his assistant, who lure the teens from the first film, now in college, to the eerie Hell House. Targeted tropes include the ghostly whispering voice, who here gets irritated when Cindy can’t take a hint (“check the [expletive] music room!” it shouts); the portrait of the lady of the house who almost exactly resembles a new visitor (“except her hair isn’t as oily”); and the possessed girl’s contorting body (here because she’s having sex with a ghost).
In my personal favorite bit, Cindy is fleeing a skeleton when Brenda intervenes: “This is a skeleton, this is bones! Would you run from Calista Flockhart?” she asks, before cleanly removing the skeleton’s head and playing catch with it. The most dated reference? Cindy stumbles across the ruined remains of Florida’s ballots from the 2000 presidential election. Others include an extended bit about a vulgar parrot riffing on “Paulie,” and a joke about the “this is your brain on drugs” P.S.A.
‘Scary Movie 3’ (2003)
As the films go on, and without the Wayans Brothers’ involvement, the satire becomes much less focused. Where the first two movies zeroed in on specific subgenres, the later entries tend to spoof whatever the biggest movies of the year were. In the case of “Scary Movie 3,” those movies are “Signs” and the American remake of “The Ring.” It follows Cindy and her new friends George (Simon Rex) and Tom (Charlie Sheen) as they try to unravel the mysteries of crop circles and eerie video tapes to stop an alien invasion. What the movie lacks in clear purpose, though, it makes up for in mile-a-minute jokes, visual gags like the sheriff’s expanding hat and cameos galore (Jenny McCarthy, Pamela Anderson, Simon Cowell and Fat Joe, to name a few). The most dated reference is also the climax: It turns out that the cursed video spread around after the creepy girl’s dad (George Carlin, by the way) returned it to Blockbuster instead of “Pootie Tang.”
‘Scary Movie 4’ (2006)
The cold open of this film is, in my opinion, worth the price of admission. Shaquille O’Neal and Dr. Phil (playing themselves) get stuck in a “Saw” trap — hilarity and gore ensue, as do jokes about Shaq’s inability to make a free throw shot and Dr. Phil’s not actually being a medical doctor. OK, it isn’t terribly clever, nor is it exactly a pointed satire of the “Saw” films (which are ripe for ribbing). But the film so perfectly encapsulates the 2006 cultural zeitgeist that I couldn’t help but chuckle. The rest of the movie ropes in “War of the Worlds” and “The Grudge” as primary targets. When the so-called “tripod” aliens arrive, the first is actually what looks like a giant iPod nano — another moment of perfect cultural confluence. Other timely references include “The Girls Next Door” reality show, “Million Dollar Baby,” “Badd” by the Ying Yang Twins and Tom Cruise sofa-jumping on “Oprah.”
‘Scary Movie 5’ (2013)
This is the only film in the franchise not featuring Anna Faris and Regina Hall, and it suffers dearly for it (not to mention that the golden age of the parody movie had long faded by this point.) Combining spoofs of “Paranormal Activity” and “Black Swan” (sure, I guess!), this entry centered instead on Jody (Ashley French), whose creepy kids and haunted house keep getting in the way of her big starring role in “Swan Lake.”
It relies very heavily on physical, slapstick humor, namely a dizzying number of bits with sped-up security camera footage and kicks to the groin. One successful sendup: the religious, superstitious nanny. At one point, she keeps returning with larger and larger crucifixes until she is dragging a life-size cross like Jesus himself. References that encapsulate the time include a Coke-and-Mentos gag, a joke about the Tiger Woods cheating scandal and a cameo from the “Real Housewife of Atlanta” Shereé Whitfield doing her famous catchphrase, “Who gon’ check me, boo?”
‘Scary Movie’ (2026)
With more than a decade since the last film, there’s a whole mountain of pop culture for the Wayans brothers, on their return, to satirize. As you might expect, reboots and remakes like “Halloween,” “Final Destination: Bloodlines” and the new “Scream” movies take most of the hits. Pop-culture references abound, too, including ones that already feel dated about Covid tests and using they/them pronouns. What is referenced most of all, though, are the previous movies in the franchise, with Marlon and Shawn Wayans ripping on the “Scary Movie” entries they weren’t involved in, alongside Anthony Anderson (who is featured in the third and fourth installments) and none other than Shaq himself.
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