Scary Movie 2 (2001) review – A rushed sequel that fails to deliver

Welcome to Knockout Horror. You know, I’ve come to realise, as of late, that the safest place to store some of the things you loved, long in the past, is deep inside of your memory. Don’t look at them, don’t touch them, and don’t you dare wonder whether they were as good as you remember. Whether it is a childhood treat that you enjoyed a few decades ago… Or a spoof comedy horror movie like Scary Movie 2 which we just so happen to be reviewing today.

Funnier Than the First? I’m Not So Sure Anymore

We reviewed the first entry into the Scary Movie franchise as part of our 31 Days of Halloween feature last year. It seemed only right to follow it up with the sequel that released not even an entire year later. After all, there was something embedded deep in my mind that told me I enjoyed Scary Movie 2 a hell of a lot more than the original. I mean, it has some genuinely iconic scenes, right? Well, as far as horror spoofs go, that is.

We have the cast ripping off the Nike basketball commercials that were so popular at the time. A fun parody of The Exorcist to open the movie up. Some hilarious Charlie’s Angels references, and it was the last film to feature the entire crew – Ray, Shorty, Cindy, and Brenda.

“My memories had definitely betrayed me. I sat and watched last night and didn’t laugh more than a couple of times. Even then it was little more than a chuckle.”

The story, as is fairly typical for these films, lampoons a number of different horror classics. Namely The Amityville Horror, Poltergeist, What Lies Beneath, and The House on Haunted Hill, among others. The setup most closely resembles the Catherine Zeta-Jones, Liam Neeson, and Owen Wilson starring 1999 remake of The Haunting.

Our motley crew are tricked by their professor into taking part in a sleep experiment inside of a haunted house. When the gang arrive, it isn’t long before they find themselves in a whole bunch of “hilarious” scenarios and encounters with the spirit world that range from ghostly sexual assault to ghostly groping and even some ghostly fondling thrown in for good measure.

A rushed production turned into a recipe for disaster

It goes without saying that the making of this movie was fraught with difficulties. A year of production time would be a seriously tough ask, even with prior preparation. The Wayans brothers had no such opportunity.

Miramax refused to green-light this sequel until they saw how successful the first movie was at the box office. This left director Keenan Ivory Wayans and the writing team, including his brothers and stars of the film Marlon and Shawn, only nine months to not only devise, script, and cast the movie, but also to produce it too.

It was a ridiculously unreasonable ask from Miramax. That’s less than half the time of a standard Hollywood production. The resulting stress caused by the tight schedule meant we would never see the Wayans brothers at the helm of another Scary Movie film again… Well, that was until the announcement of Scary Movie 6 which will see the entire original crew reunite for the first time.

Everything about this movie suffered for that rushed schedule. The script isn’t as good, the jokes aren’t as funny, the story is significantly less clever, and the running gags have slowed down to a crawl.

“Everything about this movie suffered for that rushed schedule. The script isn’t as good, the jokes aren’t as funny, the story is significantly less clever.”

Even the soundtrack suffered; we didn’t have tracks made purposefully for the film anymore. We just had a collection of songs that were popular back then. Scary Movie 2 is a movie that feels extremely rushed and that’s because it was.

Fewer screams, even fewer laughs

My memories had definitely betrayed me when it comes to this film. I sat and watched last night and didn’t laugh more than a couple of times. Even then it was little more than a chuckle. I am not going to even attempt to say it is because I have matured and my humour has somehow found its way out of the toilet. That would be a complete lie.

I still really enjoy spoofs, I still enjoy childish humour, and dumb stuff still makes me laugh. This movie simply isn’t anywhere near as funny as the first one. It’s sex joke after sex joke and not clever sex jokes, either. Boring ones that really aren’t clever. It goes pretty far beyond even frat boy humour and don’t even get me started on that stupid talking parrot.

Another problem is that the story is rather dull. I know spoofs are, by their very nature, not particularly original but the setup for this film is little more than a vehicle for a bunch of gross out humour and derivative laughs.

“It’s sex joke after sex joke and not clever sex jokes, either. Boring ones that really aren’t clever. It goes pretty far beyond even frat boy humour.”

The first movie’s somewhat clever take on the slasher genre had a fairly cohesive plot that actually made some sense. The story here is like something out of the worst episode of Scooby Doo stretched over 80 minutes. The supernatural theme doesn’t work nearly as well, it doesn’t offer nearly as many opportunities for laughs, and it is nowhere near as interesting.

The references to other horror movies don’t feel as clever as they did in the first film, either. The Nike parody stands out, as does the Exorcist themed opening. Outside of that, it’s slim pickings.

There really wasn’t enough time between the first movie and this one for horror to develop and birth a few titles worth parodying. This meant the writers had to go further back for the source material which made Scary Movie 2 feel less current, less clever, and less witty. The third movie has a significantly better repertoire of spoof material thanks to the advent of J-Horror in the west.

A Few Redeeming Gags

There are still moments here and there that are going to make you laugh. Cindy is still a lot of fun thanks to Anna Faris’s committed performance. Brenda (Regina Hall) is always hilarious and Shorty is going to get his laughs, even if it is by recycling the same stoner stuff from the first film.

Tim Curry fits like a glove in this format and is a lot of fun. David Cross gives it his all and is rewarded with a few good moments as the wheelchair bound Dwight. But it’s Chris Elliott’s Hanson that is probably the most enduring thing about this film thanks to his performance living on in meme-form.

With that being said, Ray is criminally underused and Buddy (Chris Masterson) feels extremely out of place. It’s like they felt like they needed a white dude in there somewhere so threw him in. Theo is a poor replacement for Shannon Elizabeth’s fantastic Buffy Gilmore, too.

I get why Scary Movie 2 is such an inferior film. There was no way they were going to be able to bring together a quality product with so little time. That was hideously unfair and risked setting the franchise back big time. As it stands, this movie raked in a $141 million box-office and people went quite easy on it. Well, outside of the panning it took from critics, that is.

In retrospect, I was seriously disappointed to see how poorly it holds up. Scary Movie 3 might be my favourite in the series so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t share the same fate when I rewatch it. I know these films are, objectively, pretty shit but they are like comfort food. You know it isn’t good for you but sometimes it is just what you need to truly feel at home after a crappy day.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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