User reviews

Very funny comedy from the Wayan team. It's a take on all the recent teen horror flicks, and it does it superbly well. I hate noise in cinemas while I'm watching a film, but I couldn't keep quiet, I was laughing out loud, and I even shouted at the screen. Now I have never done that before. The gags, from one liners to the set pieces, are so funny, watch out for the sex scene and the gym teacher - I almost wet myself. This ranks next to Airplane as one of the top ten funnies.

Scary Movie is now (it was a little while ago it was Me, Myself & Irene) my favorite comedy of the year. This film gives another word to the spoof/comedy genre, and even though it doesn't make a breakthrough like Airplane!, it is still very, very funny. Sure it's not for everyone, but for those who have seen all the scary movies parodied in this film (example- Scream, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, Halloween, The Shining, etc) and can enjoy a good comedy, this film is definitely for you.

But the plot is unexplainable, but the jokes are. The spoof follows in the Wayans bros. tradition (this film is directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans, written by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, produced by all three, and starring all three) of they're last spoof- Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Jokes include a guy who acts very gay but isn't (Shawn Wayans) a pot head (Marlon Wayans) and some other characters (Carmen Electra's cameo is my favorite). Also, the references to movies but not parodies are still funny. Very sick, very crude, very funny. The funniest film of the year. A+

I recently rewatched this to see just how it would age and if it could still bring in the laughs and I can confidently say that it does (for the most part)

I'm not sure what the people who dumped on this film were expecting, but I found it entertaining. I am a fan of good horror and good satire, so I was able to recognize and appreciate the jokes.

True, this film relies a bit much on poddy humor, but at the same time, there is a cleverness in the way all the films being spoofed (and there are many) get twisted together and played with here. Some of the slapstick and sight gags do fall flat, but the movie is quick paced and the satire is fun. If you don't go in expecting Shakespeare, you'll enjoy it. And you might even get some Shakespeare.

I was amazed that I remembered virtually every scene watching this maybe 20 years later. I must have watched it loads as a kid which means I am sure many others did too. It really was a classic at the time and remains so now. It doesn't have as many laugh out loud moments for me as another Wayans classic, White Chicks. But it is such a great parody of Scream and IKWYDLS. The on running gag about Ray being in the closet is absolutely hilarious, the type of joke that would perhaps not go down well today, which is a shame, because it is not offending anybody, it is simple funny comedy.

Originality: 9/10

Length/Pacing: 9/10

Immersion/Escapism: 8/10

Characters: 8/10

Acting: 7/10

Substance & Themes: 6/10

Intellectual engagement: 3/10

Emotional effect: 1/10.

Not really knowing what to expect when I went to saw this, other than a parody of the recent crop of teen horror films started by Wes Craven's excellent Scream, this was utterly puerile and silly Amercian parody humour.

It was well done though, unlike the Leslie Nielsen bores that we have seen in recent years. Going by the cast list and the credits - it was definitely kept in the family though!

I began watching this film the other night hopeful that I'd get some laughs. However a combination of inept attempts at humour and a rather unpleasant, obnoxious undercurrent soon made this film a chore to watch and I couldn't last the distance without fast-forwarding large chunks of the film.

One reason I disliked the film so much was how low its standards were. With the exception of one or two jokes early on, the filmmakers seemed to think that merely making the audience aware they were spoofing a Kevin Williamson-type film was in itself enough to constitute a joke.

Secondly, the film seems to have been described as "outrageous" by the LA Times for example but what exactly is so outrageous about this film? All the predictable areas are mined for humour. The only way anyone would think that the film's litany of jokes involving gore/sexual innuendo/cross-dressers/homosexuals/pot-smoking are 'outrageous' are those who haven't seen the 4000 or so films that have used this type of humour in the past.

Perhaps, like 'Something about Mary', it's deemed outrageous because it pushes the boundaries of some of these jokes a bit further but it's still a variation on the same joke.

After a while, the film's tone is so relentless and obvious that it's easy to see where the next joke is coming from. When I saw an overweight woman have a speaking part later in the film, you knew that there would a joke relating to her weight. As Hollywood deems, only 'the beautiful people' appear at the multiplexes.

In reality, 'Scary Movie' is anything but outrageous as it picks safe, obvious targets for humour that won't cause any real controversy. This film is about the same standard as 'Silence of the Hams' from a few years back but due to a few factors (mainly marketing) whereas 'Hams' did zero at the box office, 'Scary Movie' was a major hit.

My headline is what I am sure everyone remembers from the movie. People kept repeating it for a long time, maybe a bit too long. Watched it today for the first time in almost 2 decades and was doing the same thing while laughing about this classic.

Besides this scene I couldn't remember much about the movie and it ended up being pretty good. I just watched Scream a few days ago so I could get most references. They were done really well. The parody scenes were done perfectly when compared to the original. The character of the mentally challenged police guy was pretty funny even though the guy in Scream was pretty sweet.

References to other movies that I haven't watched in a while but could still recognize. Dawson climbing into the window was also a hilarious moment.

Really good parody movie catching the essence of the horror movies of the 90's and the humor of that time.

I have heard for years about the first SCARY MOVIE but never got a chance of seeing it. However, on Christmas Eve I found it on Netflix and decided to give it a try. Now that I took this off my chest I can go to the review.

In the beginning Drew Decker (Carmen Electra) is doing the exact same thing of Drew Barrymore in the beginning of SCREAM. Soon Ghostface arrives and it happens the same stuff of that 1996 classic, only in a funnier fashion. The movie has no real plot to speak of. From then, it's a lightning fast parody not only of SCREAM 1 and 2, but also of various other horrors or thrillers of those years. Some jokes are funny (especially the moment when Ghostface gets high with Marlon Wayans) and some, well, fall flat.

Despite a few times I felt bored and thought the gags were juvenile, I still liked this film for its funny moments (including the ones aforementioned) and I am one of the few who thinks the sequels are better. Not an awful parody such as SILENCE OF THE HAMS or DISASTER MOVIE... just something in the ways of the two HOT SHOTS, not to be taken seriously.

I got to see the sneak preview of Scary Movie last Thursday night - for free. I remember first hearing about the movie back when they were going to call it, "Scream If You Know What I Did Last Summer," and was looking forward to it. I heard last week that Mom & Pop Wayans left during the premiere. I now understand why.

The movie had its funny points where I laughed heartily. Those were few and far between. Most of the time, I was embarrassed to be in the theater, with the people I was with. Many of the sight gags had me gagging. This movie was definitely more gross than funny.

The movie works suprisingly well. All the movies that it parodies are structured together in a decent way that makes sense within the movies logic. The end twist is also suprisingly well executed. The humor is pretty hit or miss but it doesn't overly rely on shock humor etc. It even has a few funny bacround gags that I missed the first time watching. Obviously there were also parts that felt painful since the humour was just plain bad in them.

I'm not trying to go to an extreme to prove a point, but this movie is actually the worst I've ever seen. Ill-conceived, quickly written, a choppy pace, and bluntly lame, Scary Movie is as bad as it gets, or as bad as I've witnessed it.

It's not that I'm one to be offended. Scary Movie in no way offended me (although that may be another downfall for others). In the end it was it's failed attempt at humor, or at amusement at all. I can seriously say that this was the first comedy I never as much as blinked at.

Like most movie parodies, `Scary Movie' starts out well then begins to head downhill as it exhausts the possibilities of its limited material. Certainly, few genres are as rife for self-satire as the teen slasher films that have proliferated in theatres ever since the early 1980's. Seeing, however, as even some of the earliest `Friday the 13th' and `Halloween' films seem like ancient history to today's core movie going public, `Scary Movie' draws upon more contemporary examples of the genre like `Scream' and `I Know What You Did Last Summer' as its source of inspiration. In its opening stretches, `Scary Movie' has a great deal of fun parodying the many ludicrous conventions that have long defined these films: the use of 30-year old actors to portray empty-headed, nubile adolescents; the heavy emphasis on teen sexuality and partial nudity; the inane actions of the killer's victims who seem to do everything possible to hurl themselves into dangerous situations; and the oh-so-predictable false scare (usually caused by a leaping cat) followed immediately by the inevitable killer's attack.

Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and boasting a screenplay concocted by no fewer than six (count ‘em SIX) writers, `Scary Movie' establishes a high speed rhythm and pace that the filmmakers manage to sustain through most of the film's 88-minute running time – though there is a noticeable tendency on the part of the film to lag in the last half hour. Part of the problem could be that, as with most films made up essentially of sound and sight gags haphazardly strung together, it is inevitable that some of the bits will succeed better than others and that, as the movie rolls along, the inspiration will run a little dry and the humor will become less spontaneous and more forced. Indeed, this type of movie genre parody has always worked best when applied in small doses on TV series like `Saturday Night Live,' `In Living Color' and even the `Carol Burnett Show.' Stretched out to full length, such concepts often suffer the curse of diminishing returns.

Occasionally, the screenplay edges so close to the limits of good taste that one may question whether or not the material is truly appropriate for the age group at which the movie is obviously targeted. The crudity is actually much more comically effective when it is merely hinted at than when it is so openly spelled out and displayed. But then subtlety is not exactly a strong suit of the straight horror movie genre either.

`Scary Movie' is, at least, blessed with a winning, game cast made up of appropriately post adolescent actors who understand well the mannerisms and speech patterns of the stereotypes they embody. The overall good-natured quality of the film and its fairly high laugh ratio of gems to clunkers make `Scary Movie' an imperfect but generally likeable popcorn entertainment.

For me, really successful. I laughed every now and then. Mostly Shorty, Doofy and Scream pulled it for me. It went by awfully fast because it's a shorter movie, but I still really enjoyed it, so soon it was over. For me, total satisfaction and a good comedy that pokes fun at horror movies and it worked for me.

Usually I'm very wary of laughing too loudly or saying things to the screen out loudly in a cinema, I mean, imagine you had someone like that behind you in the piccies, you'd be mad. With Scary Movie, however, I couldn't help it. Once the initial nervousness of the starting jokes is over, the humour just turns mad and comes at you fast, and I just couldn't help but Scream with laughter at some points. The gym teacher, Miss Man, got the most audience reaction. Brilliantly funny, rips off more films than you can count, you'll die laughing.

The Wayans brothers bring a horror spoof based somewhat on the Scream movies. It also spoofs every TV and movie that the Wayans could get their hands on. The biggest question should be 'is it funny'. The answer is yes more than no. It starts with a funny opening with Carmen Electra. Anna Faris is adorable as Cindy Campbell, and is best when playing dumb.

The movie is very scatter shoot with its humor. It leads to some hilarious jokes but also some groan worthy stupidity. Not all jokes work and definitely not for everybody. The scatter shoot approach should get some laughs from everybody. The best has to be when they inject some black people humor into the lily white Scream franchise. It takes the similar path as Zucker's Airplane without the cohesive story.

This movie is pure trash. It's a waste of time, waste of money, waste of talent (?) and a waste of brain power. The jokes, better called gags they're so disgusting, are beyond anything that can even be considered marginally funny. The concept is good enough, and when the movie is in the actual act of parody (which happens not often enough), there are a few little chuckles. But there is far too much filler, that being distasteful and tired jokes that grate on the nerves. I can't emphasise enough how BAD this movie is. Stay away from it for as long as possible.

Scream had redefined a genre, bring the slasher genre back from the depths of despair, Scary Movie rode the wave of interest in the genre and ripped it to shreds, hilariously.

Who doesn't watch a Horror movie and say to yourself don't do that, or don't go there, this film highlights all the dos and dont's ridiculing all we love about them. The gags are non stop, the Scream parody opening scenes look great to be honest, the play on the Scream mask is so funny. Doofus is hilarious, and arguably has more sense then his counterpart in Scream. Anna Faris, Regina Hall and Shaun Wayans provide the most laughs, each equally hilarious.

It's not to be taken seriously, when I'm in a bad mood, this is the film I reach for, it always changes my mood, let's be honest it's hilarious, and not afraid to offend everyone.

Don't get confused by the high star review: this movie is very dumb and ridiculous with humor that some people will just not like, while also being a parody of several movies at once. However, I am someone who has seen almost none of the movies that it parodies and I still had such a fun time watching this. I guess it is just my style of humor, because I was laughing at most of the jokes and gags, and each character has at least one funny and memorable scene/line. It's just the dumb high school guy that still lives in me that loves this humor, but anytime I watch this with a friend or group of friends we all walk away with a smile on our faces. This movie is far better than many of the other spoofs out there, and I give it a 7/10 because it never fails to make me laugh. There is no deeper narrative, the plot is disjointed, but those things don't matter to me because this movie doesn't need a heartfelt message or intriguing plot: it is just dumb and having fun. And I absolutely love watching it.

The scariest aspect of this movie is that it made it to the screen in the first place, that some people apparently think it is funny and/or worth watching and that some well-known film critics who should have known better actually gave it fairly positive reviews. It is absolutely the worst movie I have seen in a long, long time....the bottom of the barrel.

Replete with bathroom humor and tasteless, vulgar jokes throughout the movie, there is something in it to offend everyone. Supposedly a comedy or spoof, it is very rarely actually funny and succeeds primarily in being only boring and repugnant.

It is easy to understand why the film industry has been so lowly regarded the past year or two (and feeling considerable financial pain as well) when it puts out dreck like this.

Don't bother seeing it...save your money and your time for a movie that doesn't spend all of it's time in the sewer, as this one does.

A group of teenagers are targeted by a serial killer exactly one year after they ran over a man.

In 1996 Scream was a film that reinstated the slasher horror genre and Keenan Ivory Wayans' spoof is a true and funny testament to that horror classic.

Modern spoofs often contain slapstick humour, stereotypes and a fairly predictable plot. This is evident with this 2000 hit and is pure silly entertainment that you can't help but love and laugh along with despite the conventional approach.

Recent releases such as Disaster Movie have brought the spoof genre to an all time low. Filled with unfunny parodies, attacks on celebrities and ultimately silly plots, it's a wonder why they are still being made. In the nineties we had classic spoofs such as Austin Powers and Naked Gun, silly but with a sharp and entertaining plot.

Scary Movie has such a good plot, choosing to focus its energy on Scream and I know what you did last summer, that you forget its intentions to demean other films and therefore, are able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

The opening is pretty much Scream with some great moments of slapstick in, and crude slapstick at that with safety signs, sexual references and an out of control car.

This opening sets the tone for an engrossing comedy and viewers are thrust head first into typical teenagers lives, filled with some fine slapstick humour and stereotypes lives There is a consistency to Scary Movie. There is little wondering away from its objective to tell the tale of the teens being targeted and therefore achieves a realism in its own context. With follow-ups 2, 3 and 4 there is a tendency to run away from the main narrative and have sillier skits that this original remains the most sophisticated to date.

Though the comedy is frequently predictable, there is still elegance about the way Wayans achieves this effect. His close and unflinching style gives that humorous and equally horrific substance to fly across both genres into this tantalizing tale.

Spoofs are always worth viewing for their sheer cheek to criticize blockbusters and Scary Movie is no exception with its pin point accuracy on Scream and other horrors. Filled with likable slapstick and funny stereotypes, this is the finest in the series

Hadn't seen this one in years. Still a fun and enjoyable spoof on the horror flicks of the time with a near-lethal dose of the raunchy comedies that were coming out post-American Pie.

Looking forward to revisiting the others. I remember really enjoying whichever one had Charlie Sheen in it.