After more than a decade away from theaters, the Scary Movie franchise returns with its sixth installment. With horror films being so popular lately and the endless well of modern horror trends to parody, it felt like the perfect time for the series to come back. Sadly, Scary Movie 6 squanders that opportunity on a messy, aimless comedy that struggles to get laughs and gives audiences little reason to revisit the franchise.
The first Scary Movie was funny because it was over the top and yet had a surprisingly cohesive story. The plot was intentionally absurd but there was enough structure to keep the viewer interested as the jokes just kept coming. The sequel at least had some of that energy still in it and gave us some memorable comedic moments even if it didn’t reach the heights of its predecessor.
However, since then, the series has steadily declined. The later films (at least from the third onward) became increasingly filled with random humor and pop-culture references, with a few bright spots of gags. Scary Movie 6 unfortunately keeps the downward trend going rather than reversing it.
The film tries to parody the modern horror era, borrowing heavily from recent Scream sequels and the increasing trend of legacy reboots. Cindy, Brenda, Greg, Ray and Shorty are familiar faces, back after years away from their original adventures. A few of the characters now have children of their own, which lends itself to potential for generational jokes and family-oriented comedy.
Cindy’s story is about the tension between her and her daughters, while Brenda’s comedy is largely about her relationship with her son, who is just a little too honest. Unfortunately these ideas rarely go past the initial setup. A running gag featuring a character based on Wednesday Addams soon wears thin as the film keeps explaining the joke instead of letting viewers figure it out.
Meanwhile, a Ghostface-style killer haunts all-new and returning characters. The mystery gives the film its loose narrative architecture, but it soon becomes evident that story logic isn’t a priority. As the movie progresses, the plot seems to get more and more disjointed. It’s like a series of unrelated comedy sketches, not a movie.
Some sequences parody current entertainment trends, but most have no purpose or meaningful connection to the larger story. One lengthy section is about The Substance, but it does not contribute much to the story as a whole. Similarly, the return of fan-favorite character Doofy also raises questions the movie is never concerned with answering, completely ignoring major revelations established in previous movies.
But the greatest disappointment is in the comedy itself.
Jokes are often milked way beyond their natural life. The lengthy church sequence quickly loses its momentum, and various references to the original movie come across as contrived and lackluster. The movie is very nostalgic, recycling old jokes over and over again with no new ones added.
classic moments get modern updates, but not many of them work The famous “Wazzup” gag is turned into a social media influencer sketch, and a recurring joke about Greg is overplayed to the point it loses any comedic punch.
The film also repeats visual jokes several times with small variations. Be it stacks of pill bottles, cans or alcohol containers, these recycled gags don’t get laughs and instead point to the lack of creativity in the screenplay.
The problem is compounded by the movie’s use of random slapstick moments that seem to come out of nowhere. Many jokes appear to be more about shock value or internet-style humor than clever satire. Consequently, the potentially funny ideas are ruined by poor execution.
The annoying thing is there’s a lot of material to work with in parodying. There are plenty of trends in modern Hollywood that beg to be satirized: legacy sequels, prestige horror, influencer culture, artificial intelligence, a true crime obsession, endless remakes, studio franchise fatigue. Scary Movie 6 acknowledges some of these targets, but rarely develops them into meaningful or memorable comedy.
There’s room for a smart parody movie in the landscape of film today. Over the past few years, the entertainment industry has offered up a lot of ridiculous trends that are ripe for ridicule. The problem is that Scary Movie 6 never figures out how to satirize them effectively.
Instead of a sharp and hilarious comeback, the film is a desperate attempt to repeat past success. What we get is a messy collection of sing absence of real laughs.
Decision
Scary Movie 6 had the opportunity to breathe new life into a dormant franchise, but instead squanders its potential. The movie seldom finds its comedic rhythm, despite the return of beloved characters and plenty of current horror trends to poke fun at. A nostalgic, joke-lite and sketchily put-together sequel that many have waited for serves as a reminder that not every franchise revival deserves a second chance.ketches, tenuously held together by a flimsy plot line — and an alarm
Rating: 2/10