Welcome to Knockout Horror. I decided to lighten the mood for the midpoint of our 31 Days of Halloween 2024 feature and what better way than with a Scary Movie. Naturally, I am referring to the Scary Movie series of films rather than just the generic term. But the big question is, which one to choose?
Which To Choose?
Let’s be honest for a second, spoof movies are a mixed bag at best and the Scary Movie series is no exception. The only truly brilliant spoofs I can think of are the Hot Shots series and the brilliant Airplane. All the others range from terrible to mediocre. They are a bit of a guilty pleasure, of mine, however, and I quite enjoyed all of the entries into the Scary Movie series.
Checking up on IMDB, the majority of them hover around a 5.3 user score which is fair. These types of comedies really aren’t for everyone and even the good ones don’t always stand up very well to time. Critics gave the first film a mediocre rating and panned the rest of them.
I decided to go with the first movie as it seems to be the most critically well received. My personal favourite, however, is either the second movie or Scary Movie 3. They all follow a fairly similar theme, however, and your preference may come down to which movies they are ripping off you enjoy the most.
The Start of Something
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the first Scary Movie film was intended to be a one off. Originally penned by the utterly talent-less team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The Wayans brothers, who had previously had success with the series In Living Color and The Wayans Bros, came on board, kept none of the original script, and started anew. Friedberg and Seltzer would stay in the spoof game and go on to make the horrifying Epic Movie and Disaster Movie.
Scary Movie was coming off of a wave of enormous horror, and thriller, cinema hits. The Scream series and I Know What You Did Last Summer had released in the previous years and the genre had found something of a new lease of life. The Blair Witch Project hit cinemas in 1999, as did The Sixth Sense, and it was clear that horror had found itself en vogue with younger audiences. What better time to release a spoof featuring a plot that lampoons all of those films?
These movies were so much a part of the young cinema goer’s zeitgeist that simply quoting lines from them was enough to garner instant familiarity. Scary Movie did that again, and again, and again. Ripping off famous scenes from all of the aforementioned movies as well as horror classics like The Shining and the Halloween series. Scary Movie was the start of something; perhaps the most enduring spoof series of all time. A series that would go on for a further 13 years. Only to be revived in 2025 with a brand new movie in production as we speak.
Is It Any Good?
That’s the real question, right? Well, I am not sure that “Good” is the correct word to use. The series, as a whole, is unlikely to be described as good, even by people who like it. The film which started it all, Scary Movie, is probably the best example with the most wit and the most new ideas. Spoofs are out of fashion now but they always had a place in the pre-2000s era. Scary Movie simply jumped on that bandwagon and aimed it at a horror crowd.
Following, basically, the plot of Scream. Scary Movie sees a group of high schoolers (played by people in their mid to late 20s, as was the norm for the horror genre in the 90s) stalked by a masked killer. Watching it back in 2024 it is likely to go over the heads of any younger viewers who haven’t caught up on that specific period of horror.
This movie is a time capsule of the 90s and doesn’t stand up too well to time. Especially if you have no knowledge of the films that inspired it. The scream series has had a bit of a revival, recently. But Scary Movie follows the plot of the original so closely that an awareness of how that movie plays out will help you enjoy this film. Naturally, it’s been nearly 30 years since some of these titles released. So that degree of humour that comes from the lampooned movies being current at the time is gone.
Still Fairly Funny
A lot of the humour here, obviously, hasn’t aged too well. There’s jokes aimed at people with developmental disabilities, non-cis people, and people of differing sexual orientations, races, and weight. Back in the early 2000s, this was fairly tame stuff but in 2024 it is just not kosher. It is one of those movies that has become more offensive as people’s sensibilities changed. None of it is all that hateful, it is just very of its time. That wouldn’t matter much to younger people today, however. Scary Movie, and its writers, would be prime for cancelling.
Stuff that I found myself laughing uproariously at back in 2000 is simply a chuckle now. If you take away the controversial elements, as well, then you are removing much of the humour. Entire punchlines surround characters who would be deemed horribly offensive today. For example, Miss Man, a muscular female gym teacher with a large set of drooping testicles. And officer Doofy, a developmentally delayed man who enjoys time alone with the vacuum cleaner.
Rather Silly
It’s infantile, middle school, humour that is predictable and silly. Still, Scary Movie has its moments. Some of the parodies are hilarious and Anna Faris has some brilliant moments of physical, slapstick, silliness. The finger pointing at certain horror movies tropes are great fun and some moments are so ridiculous its hard not to laugh. There is a distinct lean into the deliberately provocative later on when the references dry up. And there are a few shoe horned in moments. Obviously added at the last minute, purely to reference recent huge horror hits. But for horror fans, especially those familiar with the movies it spoofs, it is quite fun.
I am quite interested to see modern viewers impressed by the twist ending and the big killer reveal. It’s doing a good job of surprising people who never watched Scream. I think it is garnering a new crowd of fans who enjoy the offensive humour, as well. Lamenting the fact that a movie like this couldn’t exist today. It’s hard not to feel like it’s all a bit cheap, though. Being offensive has always been an easy way to get a laugh. A fact that, somewhat drains creativity from whomever is scripting the film. It’s not a bad thing if comedy writers have to work harder to earn the audience’s appreciation.
Should You Watch Scary Movie?
How do you recommend a movie as offensive as Scary Movie to people, in general? On the one hand you have those who will love this pre-internet era style of humour. On the other hand, there is a whole new generation of people just looking for things to cancel and new ways to be offended. It feels as though there is no middle ground and Scary Movie is not a movie that works on the principle of appealing to all. Some are going to find this movie crude and outdated. Others are going to love its “no prisoners” approach to humour. The reality is its a fairly average comedy with a few chuckles and some great references. Fans of 90s horror will likely get a kick out of it. Younger people will probably be horribly offended and switch it off pretty quick.
