BONUS REVIEW!!! A Look Back at "Scary Movie" and "Scary Movie 2"
- Matt Palmer
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Since I will be checking out the sixth installment of the "Scary Movie" franchise for the Examiner sometime opening weekend, for this review slate, I took a look at the parodies "Scary Movie" and its 2001 sequel "Scary Movie 2." I will also be checking out the other movies in the franchise for bonus reviews soon!
In the 2000 movie "Scary Movie," defying the very notion of good taste, "Scary Movie" out-parodies the pop culture parodies with a no-holds-barred assault on the most popular images and talked about moments from films, TV and commercials.
The movie nobody fires barbs at the classic, iconic scenes from "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Sixth Sense," "The Matrix" and "The Blair Witch Project," then goes on to mock a whole myriad of teen movie cliches, no matter the genre.
When the 2000 movie was initially released, audiences considered it to be a hilarious, boundary-pushing parody that successfully skewered late 90s slashers. While modern viewers acknowledge some of its crass, shock-value humor has aged poorly, it still remains a highly regarded nostalgic classic for its fast-paced jokes and hilarious stand-out performances.
"Scary Movie" (2000) has so many humorous moments that do push the line, but after watching this several times over the years, I still think it's a really hilarious movie. The humorous opening sequence that parodies "Scream" still stands out, the movie theater scene with the Brenda character really makes me laugh and I still almost want to yell "Wassup" during the infamous "Wassup" phone call scene.
The movie was celebrated for delivering some "turn off your brain" humor." "Scary Movie" remains an iconic snapshot of early 2000s comedy. A lot of fans fondly remember the breakout performance of Anna Faris and the Wayans Bros. absolute commitment to chaotic, absurd comedy.
On the flip side, much of the movie's shock value, toilet humor, and hyper-specific stereotypes are viewed by younger generations as highly offensive and cringe-worthy. The split in modern opinions has become highly visible with the upcoming release of "Scary Movie 6" and the franchise creators deliberately leaned into this divide, starting the new movie aims to "cancel cancel culture" and bring back unapologetic humor. This creative choice has sparked online debate, with some younger audiences initially expressing reservations, while many others praise the trailer for promising a return to unhinged parody.
In "Scary Movie 2" (2001), the sequel follows college students Cindy, Brenda, Ray, Shorty
and others as they are tricked by a professor into spending a weekend in "Hell House" for a fake paranormal sleep experiment.
Audiences generally viewed the 2001 sequel as a chaotic, heavily flawed, yet highly memorable sequel. While it was heavily criticized upon its 2001 release for being a rushed product, time has transformed it into a nostalgic-fueled cult classic for specific demographics. Dimension Films (the original distributor of the franchise) pushed the Wayans brothers to write and release it within exactly one year of the original, resulting in a disorganized script.
Online horror and movie communities frequently re-evaluate the movie more favorably than the harsh initial reviews it received 25 years ago. Chris Elliot still steals the show as Hanson, the caretaker with the "strong hand." Scary Movie 2" also delivers some memorable bits, such as Hanson's dinner scene, the entire opening "Exorcist" parody, Cindy's fight with the cat and Shorty and the giant weed plant.
The overall response to "Scary Movie" and "Scary Movie 2" reflects a massive gap between critical panning and enduring pop culture popularity. While mainstream film critics largely dismissed both movies as crude, stupid and structurally messy cash-grabs, audiences embraced them as defining, highly nostalgic staples of early 2000s comedy.
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