Scary Movie (2026) Review – Spoof Rebootical Disappoints

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of the latest entry into one of horror’s most well known spoof comedy series – Scary Movie (2026). This one has just hit VOD and, as much as it pains me to say this, just wait until it is free to stream somewhere. Save your money and watch one of the original movies. Let’s look at why.

The Return of Horror’s Best Loved Spoof Series

So, just to clarify, I am a big fan of the Scary Movie series. It’s actually to the point where I even enjoyed the third and fourth entries more than I probably should have. In fact, the third entry might be my favourite of all.

“The big question is – was it worth the wait? Well, sadly, not really.”

My scores for Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2 perhaps don’t reflect that, but I like to balance my enjoyment with the very real issues these movies present. And when I say issues, I don’t mean how controversial or offensive they are, I mean how poorly made they can be.

Needless to say, it has been a long time since we have seen Ray and Shorty in a Scary Movie film.

An intense feud erupted between the original writers, the Wayans brothers, and the studio after the rushed production of Scary Movie 2 and the entire family abandoned the franchise. This left only Anna Faris and Regina Hall to return from the original cast, as Cindy and Brenda respectively.

Both actors were locked into multi-film contracts and their inability to get out of said contracts caused a little bit of resentment with the Wayans who thoroughly believed the pair should walk away. That’s easy to say for a family with connections, writing experience, money, and opportunities. Faris was a struggling actor and had nothing of the sort to fall back on.

Still, time heals all wounds and rumours about a series reboot have been doing the rounds for a long time. Over twenty years later, here we are with the brand new “rebootical” as it’s constantly referred to by the cast.

Ray and Shorty are back and we have four Wayans brothers in the writer’s chair. The big question is – was it worth the wait? Well, sadly, not really.

It’s really not very good

We were originally going to watch this in the cinema with a friend but timing never worked out. Instead, we waited until it hit VOD and invited said friend around to watch it together. Just to clarify, this is something we have been looking forward to for months.

“I’d say we were probably about half-way through before we actually emitted anything other than a brief chuckle.”

We sat down with our snacks and drinks and eagerly awaited the first joke that would have us laughing our asses off… and we waited… and waited… and waited.

I’d say we were probably about half-way through before we actually emitted anything other than a brief chuckle. Anyone expecting the relentless belly laughs provided by the first movie is going to be in for immediate disappointment.

This is a film that seems a little confused, feels far too long, has way too many ideas, and very poor execution. It finds its feet a little bit later on and does manage a few decent laughs but, objectively speaking, it’s just a bit of a mess.

A seriously bloated cast

A big part of the problem is that Scary Movie has a lot of catching up to do.

It spends the first quarter introducing us to, what can only be described as, a very bloated cast. We have a bevy of returning favourites including Cindy, Brenda, Ray, Shorty, Doofy, Gail Hailstorm, Greg, and Hanson, among others.

Some of these are rather brief cameos, others are fairly well featured characters. Conspicuous by their absence are Tori Spelling (from the second movie) and Shannon Elizabeth (who was fantastic in the first film).

We also have an entire new young generation of characters to introduce that consists of Shorty’s niece and nephew, Cindy’s daughter, a random friend called Tuesday (obviously a play on Wednesday Addams), and various other loosely connected people.

There’s far too many characters here and the way they are introduced is chaotic, at best. Shoddy editing and some very questionable direction from Michael Tiddes means each new cast member is presented in almost a quick fire format that completely lacks in context or structure.

The early stages are a mess

The first 30 minutes are a complete mess and jokes take a back seat to establishing every single one of these numerous individuals. The narrative is presented as something of a passing of the torch, much like the recent Scream movies so expect the younger generation to play a big part.

Indeed, the films that Scary Movie most closely lampoons are those of the Scream reboot and its follow up. Much like those reboots, the nature of imitation invites comparison. Whereas the Scream reboot stood on its own while paying homage, Scary Movie feels like a pale imitation of the first film.

At the end of the day, you are just going to be waiting for the original cast to come back together and to see some of your old favourites. You aren’t going to care about the comically racist woke chick, the sex crazed girl, or Shorty’s virgin nephew (yes, that’s his only defining personality trait). You definitely won’t care about Cindy’s facsimile daughter or her dull boyfriend.

When the jokes fail to land, you are going to immediately jump into “spot the legacy cast member” and even that might lead to disappointment. Doofy (Dave Sheridan) is still fun, Gail (Cheri Oteri) gets a few laughs, and I really enjoyed Greg’s (Lochlyn Munro) brief appearance.

Others are disappointingly fleeting. Hanson (Chris Elliott), for example, appears for only a few minutes, nowhere near long enough to please fans, considering his status as one of the series’ best characters.

It fails as a horror spoof

Once the messy character introductions are out of the way, it’s time for Ghostface to, once again, run rampant. This is where most of the actual horror parodies occur. We have trademark Scary Movie-style rip-offs of Get Out, Final Destination: Bloodlines, Halloween, Longlegs and a bunch of other movies you may, or may not, remember.

“I really enjoyed a genre side-step with a brief John Wick style action scene and some of the visual references do succeed.”

These parodies frequently miss the mark or are, in some cases, completely baffling. Shorty taking a trip into the world of K-Pop Demon Hunters? Who the hell is that reference for? Brenda basically playing Octavia Spencer’s character from Ma? Who the hell cares about that movie?

Scary Movie frequently fails when it comes to being a spoof and it’s hard not to wonder whether there were better movies to lampoon. Nothing from The Conjuring universe, no Midsommar, no The Black Phone, no Talk to Me? Scary Movie is as noteworthy for the shots it doesn’t take as the shots it misses.

I really enjoyed a genre side-step with a brief John Wick style action scene and some of the visual references do succeed at reminding you that those movies existed and were fun. None of it really adds up to a truly satisfying experience, though.

I still kind of enjoyed it

With all of that being said, I did still laugh a fair bit and did still enjoy some of the film. To be perfectly honest, the rest of the cast reuniting really takes a back seat to that of Brenda and Cindy.

Anna Faris is still absolutely brilliant and Regina Hall slipped back into Brenda’s skin without missing a beat. Nearly every genuine laugh came about because of those two. Faris’ comedy timing is impeccable, too.

Shawn Wayans is still loads of fun as Ray and Marlon Wayans does a great job as a far more prominent Shorty. I actually think the next movie will be a lot stronger when they finally manage to get the re-introductions out of the way. They really need to dial back some of the references to the earlier films, too.

Honestly, you really need to go into Scary Movie expecting it to be a mess but content with enjoying the few standout moments it has. It’s most definitely not the return to form audiences were promised but it’s still fun to see the old crew back together.

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.