I mean, what else do you guys want? Yes, the Wayans brothers have returned to bring back the classic 90s/early 2000s parody film franchise. Yes, it’s the same gimmick as the last 5 films, where they reference and spoof every horror movie/pop culture moment of the last few years. Yes, it does make me laugh a few times. What do you guys want from me? A real review for Scary Movie (2026)? Okay fine. Just remember, this is a silly parody movie that’s sole purpose is to get you to chuckle at goofy references and poop jokes. You know what you signed up for.
Scary Movie (2026) is fine. That’s it. I’m not gonna do any crazy metaphors, no gimmicks, just straight review. This film, directed by Michael Tiddes, a frequent collaborator with the Wayans family, is another entry in the franchise, cut and dry. This one does not elevate the Scary Movies into some new category of prestige or recontextualize 30 years of parody film history. Simply put, Scary Movie (2026) does it again. Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, and, screw it, even Chris Elliott are all back to reference the last 8 years of culture to various degrees of comedic success. Tldr: Faris and Hall rock, the Wayans are doing their thing, everyone else is pretty hit or miss. From one-off visual gags to occasionally, but not consistently, well-written referential dialogue, this film uses every second it can to rip, riff, and jab at any and every film, headline, and meme you’ve seen on Twitter. I can’t provide any deeper nuance to this review, only the view that this film was probably a lot of fun to make, and, well, it was pretty fun to watch.
Scary Movie is not the funniest movie of 2026, but it might have the most attempts at jokes per minute since 2025’s The Naked Gun, which, while a better film, does feel in a way like a sort of sister film. The writers of the film have chosen the classic, “throw everything at the wall until something sticks” approach, which I would argue was the correct strategy for this. If you don’t enjoy the drawn-out COVID test jokes, don’t worry, Special Needs Officer Doofy (Dave Sheridan, you don’t have to keep doing this bit) will cut the silence with some other riff or reference, until he at least gets a chuckle out of you. Look, I know this may sound like I’m talking down on the film, but in all honesty, did we expect anything else? Plus, the jokes work…most of the time. Sure, pretty much all the homophobia and Trans jokes don’t play (it’s 2026), but frankly, it wouldn’t be a Scary Movie without at least a couple of misfires. There’s no elegant way to say the filmmaking is serviceable. Scary Movie (2026) is a parody movie, nothing more, nothing less. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, and that’s okay. After 95 minutes, I looked over at my partner and said, “Well. Not sure if that was good, but I had fun.” Which might be one of the best recommendations I could give to any film.
3 out of 5 stars
Don’t worry about it, Scary Movie is exactly what we thought it would be. Go see it if it’s your kind of thing. If not, don’t worry about it. It’s just another Scary Movie. Scary Movie (2026) is the long-awaited continuation of the Scary Movie parody film franchise. The film sees the return of classic characters Cindy (Anna Faris), Brenda (Regina Hall), Shorty (Marlon Wayans), Ray (Shawn Wayans), and Doofy (Dave Sheridan, please stop), alongside a new generation as they must survive a new version of the masked ghost face killer. This comedy also stars Olivia Rose Keegan, Sydney Park, Heidi Gardner, Felissa Rose, Cameron Scott Roberts, and many, MANY others. The film was directed by Michael Tiddes and produced by Paramount Pictures, Miramax, Original Film, Ugly Baby Productions, and the Wayans Brothers.
There’s no other way for me to fit this in the review, but it must be said. Happy Pride!
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