The Ghostface killer—not to be confused with Ghostface Killah—returns to haunt Cindy Campbell and her estranged daughters in Scary Movie, the sixth installment in the spoof series opening in Prague (in both Czech-dubbed and original English-language versions) and cinemas worldwide this weekend. The first installment in the franchise since 2013’s Scary Movie 5 and first from the Wayans family since 2001’s Scary Movie 2 is packed with rat-a-tat gags, many of which fall flat—but there are enough genuine laughs here to make this a welcome return, and the best in the franchise since the 2000 original.
That original was a direct parody of Wes Craven‘s Scream, and fittingly, this Scary Movie is also a direct parody of Scream—the 2022 version, which was the fifth entry in that series, and already a couple films out of date in mid-2026. Scary Movie opens with a scene from Horror Movie, an in-franchise equivalent to Stab, and despite a go-for-broke cameo from Oscar Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor, it’s almost embarrassingly unfunny stuff. Don’t worry: it will get better, or you’ll lower your standards enough to have a good time.
This Scary Movie opens proper with a familiar call from Ghostface (back for the first time since the first movie) fielded by Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), and while the kids will be down with the nod to Netflix’s Wednesday, they may be lost on her reference to the “elevated comedy” of Judd Apatow, who really hasn’t been relevant for a decade or so. But if you think that feels a little outdated, just wait for the extended callback to The Jeffersons, which sinks what should have been a can’t-miss parody of Sinners.
The attack on Tuesday sends her sister Sarah Campbell (Olivia Rose Keegan) back to her hometown with boyfriend Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts), and they meet up with Dei Meeks (Sydney Park), her twin brother Brad Meeks (Gregg Wayans), his girlfriend Val (Ruby Snowber), and their trans friend Jess (Benny Zielke). Like Scream‘s discussion of legacy sequels (there termed ‘requel’), they identify that they’re in a ‘rebootequel’, and that they are now the target of the killer that once stalked their parents.
Despite some charming work from the younger generation (especially a perfectly-cast Keegan), Scary Movie really starts to pick up as it turns its attention to the cast of the original film, almost all of whom appear in featured roles (only Shannon Elizabeth is missing, while Jon Abrahams has a non-speaking cameo).
Front and center are Anna Faris as Tuesday and Sara’s mother Cindy, who has been prepping for Ghostface’s return like Jamie Lee Curtis in the recent Halloween movies, and Regina King as Dei and Brad’s mom Brenda Meeks, who has been partying with her kids like Octavia Spencer in Ma. Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Ray (Shawn Wayans) haven’t changed since the original, and Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri), Greg Phillipe (Lochlyn Munro), and Officer Doofy (Dave Sheridan) are all back in support.
There’s a fun running gag over which generation the legacy sequel caters for, and Scary Movie is at its best during a fully-meta climax that definitively answers that question in a more satisfying way than other recent resurrected franchises. Writers Keenan Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans, and Rick Alvarez do a surprisingly nuanced job of cobbling this film’s plot together in a sensible fashion; one only wishes they would have let the kids have more say on the gags.
Unlike last year’s The Naked Gun, which applied a different brand of humor than the original films, Scary Movie is a full-blown spoof packed to the gills with parodies of horror films like Sinners, Weapons, Get Out, M3GAN, Final Destination, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and many more. These don’t always hit the mark, but the gags fly by so fast it sometimes doesn’t matter; a parody of The Substance at first feels like the filmmakers haven’t even seen the original film, but an unexpected punchline gets audible laughs.
Scary Movie doesn’t hit the same transgressive highs as the original film (a brief reference to Terrifier 3 feels a lot less subversive than the actual scene its parodying), but has the occasional shock value that will open some eyes. There’s also plenty of cringeworthy race and gender humor, but every once in a while these jokes land too, and you might find yourself laughing against your better judgment. But the film is really at its best when it goes off the deep end, including a full-blown animated KPop Demon Hunters sequence.
These spoof movies got lazy and went out of style during the Friedberg-Seltzer era, but genuine effort was expended here, including some vibrant performances (Faris and Hall have still got it) and lush widescreen cinematography by Terry Stacey that blows Scream 7 out of the water. Kudos to Marlon Wayans and director Michael Tiddes (really upping their game since previous collaborations A Haunted House and Fifty Shades of Black) for giving a shit and going all out this time around; here’s hoping they can churn out another one while recent hits like Backrooms and Obsession are still relevant.
Be sure to stick around during the credits for two of the film’s better parody sequences, extended takes on Nosferatu (here called ‘Brosferatu’) and Longlegs, with Chris Elliott’s character from Scary Movie 2 returning as ‘Shorthand.’
