Photo via IMDb
By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
What is worse? A film without a semblance of a story or a comedy without a hint of humor? “Scary Movie” is that rare combination of both, opting for a series of sketches shamelessly thrown together in an incohesive manner that will make audiences wonder how Paramount could ever think this was a good idea. This is the sixth and hopefully final installment of the spoof comedy franchise.
Usually, this is where I provide a brief summary of the film’s plot, but without a plot, there’s really nothing to summarize. Simply put, the same characters wander into various scenes/settings to spoof popular horror films from the past five or so years. The movie comes to a merciful end when they run out of material.
Tiddes seemingly cares nothing for structure or coherence. He simply compiles scenes together that have little to no continuity with each other for the sole purpose of nostalgic references to recent horror films like “Scream,” “Terrifier,” “Get Out,” “Sinners,” “Smile,” “Weapons,” and many others. Without a point or even funny jokes, these scenes are dead on arrival. The worst part is, as Tiddes reveals the punchlines for each of these scenes, it’s almost as if he hears the reactive silence in the theater and therefore decides to explain the jokes as if the audience didn’t understand them. This is one of the worst efforts from a director that is destined to insult viewer intelligence and offer repeated punishment of boredom. As Steve Martin once said in “Sgt. Bilko,” “Make the bad man stop!”
Director Michael Tiddes has made spoof comedies before, previously directing both “A Haunted House” movies, which were equally dreadful and also featured Marlon Wayans. He lets Marlon run amok in this movie, spewing a brand of humor, usually involving tired weed jokes, that seem to only be funny to him. Outside of these moments, Tiddes uses a throw-it-on-the-wall technique to see what sticks. Unfortunately for him and the audience, nothing sticks. He uses raunchy, sexual comedy, racial comedy, transphobic comedy, topical comedy, slapstick comedy, etc. and sprays it all at viewers with a rapid-fire, Tommy gun approach. It’s an achievement in and of itself that not a single one of these jokes land. Imagine an entire episode of “Saturday Night Live,” where every sketch is a giant miss—that is this movie.
Marlon Wayans and his brothers have been absent from this franchise since their rightful dismissal after “Scary Movie 2” in 2001. Not so coincidentally, “Scary Movie 3” was the only decent film of the series. Marlon’s drug induced antics and Shawn’s continuous gay innuendos become immediately tiresome, amusing no one but themselves. While it is nice to see Anna Faris and Regina Hall return for this sequel, their dialogue feels antiquated and outdated, soliciting only eye rolls for their predictable and verbose comedic lines.
Sitting in a packed theater and not hearing a single laugh uttered throughout this comedy’s entirety should tell you all you need to know. “Scary Movie” is not only the clear frontrunner for worst film of the year, but it ranks up there among the all-time worst. Having a nightmare where each mainstream horror villain takes turns chasing and carving you up with their weapons of choice would be a more enjoyable experience than sitting through this embarrassment.
This movie earns:
