Scary Movie

With horror at a commercial apex not seen since the 1970s, what better time to revive a spoof franchise buried for over a decade? Putting the laughter into slaughter since 2000, this sixth Scary Movie instalment now qualifies as its own horror-parody subgenre. Which begs the question. What do we call it? Boo-lesque? Parrghody? Slash-tice? 

Billed as a ‘spiritual sequel’, OGs Anna Faris, Regina Hall, and Marlon and Shawn Wayans reunite here with some new blood thrown to the Ghostface killer. In this case, the estranged daughter of Faris’ Cindy Campbell (a perma-gurning Olivia Rose Keegan). And if that sounds like a cynical legacy cash-grab, don’t worry: there are endless jokes about that.  

Forget plot. There isn’t one, which is hardly a dealbreaker with parody. Plot is just a washing line to hang the jokes on, and given the Wayans’ love of bad taste, you expect a lot of soiled underwear pegged to the wire (if Ghostface clobbered with dildos tickles you, dive in). ‘Every line will be crossed’ goads the tagline, promising to send a herd of sacred cows through the mincer, which it does repeatedly, with an exhausting barrage of culture war gags.

That the film’s prime target is still Scream is largely the fault of Hollywood’s recycling machine. The Wayans will argue they can only mock what’s in front of them, but with so much fresh meat out there, it feels like a wasted opportunity. A Terrifier skit isn’t as disgustingly funny as its source; a Get Out riff is cut short just when it’s warming up; and too many horrors are shovelled in simply for recognition’s sake, as if a frantic namecheck or visual cue is funny enough.

It jars and bumps like a bucking bronco 

And oh boy, is Scary Movie frantic. With no less than five screenwriters spitballing ideas at director Michael Tiddes, his film has absolutely no flow. It jars and bumps like a bucking bronco – sketch comedy at a hyperactive pace, tossing out clunkers and punchlines, just to see what sticks. 

That same energy spreads to a wildly mugging cast, winking so hard they almost break their eyelids. Only an excellent Faris seems to clock playing it largely deadpan gets the most from the manic material. 

Which is a shame, as there is some genuinely funny stuff here. Playing in the background, it takes a while to cotton on to a killer Final Destination gag. Kanye West gets a justifiably brutal takedown and, literally taking the Michael, the biggest laugh comes from an inspired Jacko parody that recalls Keenan Ivory Wayans’ best work on the tremendous Hollywood Shuffle. 

‘You know many Wayans there are?’ smirks Marlon towards the end. ‘There are millions.’ You suspect his critic-proof film will make them millions too. For all its mocking of legacy sequels, as long as the Wayans are here, this franchise will never end. For best results, catch with a Friday night crowd.

In cinemas worldwide Jun 5.