I love a spoof movie. Some of my favorite comedies or all time are spoofs. Mel Brooks is my favorite comedy filmmaker. The Naked Gun is perfect cinema. Hell, the first Scary Movie is really funny. I say all of this just to establish that I’m very much the target audience for this film. Well, in actuality, no one is the target for this new Scary Movie, though your wallets are. A shameless cash grab, there are a few funny moments, but they’re sandwiched between one of the worst things I’ll see all year.

While I’ll concede that Scary Movie has a few pretty funny bits and some other moments that made me chuckle, overall it’s a pretty dreadful flick. The targets are so scattershot, even when something lands, there’s a dud or two immediately following. Plus, while the plot is never what to focus on in something like this, it’s skewering an incredibly dated type of horror, so it already feels tired immediately upon release.

Paramount Pictures

I’m certainly not going to run down the plot for this film, but in broad strokes, it follows the plot of the fifth Scream, which combined new characters with legacy ones. Here, after a decent opening with a surprise cameo, Ghostface attacks Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), the youngest daughter of the new shut in Cindy (Anna Faris). The attempted murder brings estranged big sister/older daughter Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and her boyfriend Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts) into town. There, they meet up with Brenda (Regina Hall) and her children, son Brad (Gregg Wayans) and daughter DEI (Sydney Park), as well as Brad’s girlfriend Elle (Ruby Snowber). Of course, other new characters are here, as are Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Ray (Shawn Wayans). One of them is the killer, right?

As the Scream plot is generally followed, time is spent spoofing everything from recent horror like Sinners and Weapons, to older targets like Longlegs, The Substance, and Terrifier, via an Art the Clown appearance. Obviously, none of it matters and it’s all for laughs, but even with low standards, too many of these jokes just end up mean-spirited, instead of funny.

Paramount Pictures

Anna Faris and Regina Hall fare the best here, but the acting is pretty poor across the board. Faris and Hall at least lean into the funniest bits of their characters, especially since they’ve played them so many times at this point. Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans generate most of the rest of the laughter, but it’s diminishing returns there. The newcomers? All terrible. Other supporting players, both new and old, include Jon Abrahams, Chris Elliott, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Benny Zielke, and more.

Director Michael Tiddes can only do so much with this awful screenplay, but it has to be said, Tiddes still did very little with it. The script, credited to a rogues gallery of Rick Alvarez, Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans, is arguably the worst in the franchise yet. It’s so devoid of any ideas and lazy, you can’t ignore its shortcomings, even when they stumble into a funny joke.

Scary Movie is terrible. I won’t lie that there are funny moments, but anything good is surrounded by so much that’s bad. It’s a shame, too, as the most recent version of The Naked Gun gave me hope for the spoof comedy. Now? We’re probably back to square one, even if this is going to prove to be wildly profitable.

SCORE: ★1/2

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It was a strange year on Broadway, but then it’s been strange everywhere. Our world at times seems downright unrecognizable, with politicians acting like mob bosses, AI transforming not just the internet but potentially the entire economy, the cost of living leaving only the super rich able to keep up, and I won’t even mention the climate crisis, but the forecast calls for more doom and gloom.

Good work, however, won’t be denied, even if Broadway producers have perhaps overlearned the lesson of last year’s sleeper, Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” Parody with a heavy dose of camp has become all the rage in a theatrical season in which the best musical winner, “Schmigadoon!,” is an affectionate sendup of golden age classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and their inspired descendants.

If Broadway is changing faster than the old guard can keep pace, the same is true for the culture in general. The economics of producing have scrambled the old playbooks. Unusual risk has occasionally brought unexpected rewards. “Schmigadoon!” fended off the competition to take the night’s top prize along with awards for both its book and score by Cinco Paul.

Michael Arden’s spectacular production of “The Lost Boys” — the staging won awards for Dane Laffrey’s scenic design and Jen Schriever and Arden’s lighting — enriched the 1980s cult film on which the show is based with human substance and high-flying showmanship. Shoshana Bean’s win for her featured performance as a persevering single mom, is a testament to the musical’s capacious heart. Ali Louis Bourzgui’s somewhat unexpected yet eminently worthy triumph for his featured performance as the vampire with front-man magnetism, catalyzed the production’s thrilling virtuosity. But few would describe this year’s ragtag selection of new musicals as robust.

The only overriding lesson may be that there are no overriding lessons. Two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody made his Broadway debut in “The Fear of 13,” reprising his acclaimed Olivier-nominated London performance. But he didn’t even receive a nomination for his work — a snub that I found unaccountable.

Spoofs like best musical nominee “Titanique,” a zany burlesque of James Cameron’s “Titanic” and all things Celine Dion, found new respectability on Broadway. And “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York”), the two-person British musical by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, endeared itself to audiences (if not so much to Tony voters) with its rom-com appeal. But what does it say about a season in which musical revivals upstaged new work?

“Ragtime,” the Lincoln Center Theatre production directed by Lear deBessonet that originated at New York City Center, was not only the most operatic offering of the season but was all the most emotionally stirring and dramatically ambitious. The show, which justly received the Tony for best musical revival contained perhaps the season’s most seismic tour de force. Joshua Henry’s Tony-winning lead performance as Coalhouse Walker Jr., the path-breaking pianist tragically ahead of his time, was astonishing in both its theatrical might and its generosity, which allowed everyone around him to shine, especially Caissie Levy, who picked up a Tony for her lead performance as a white matriarch whose political consciousness courageously awakens.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” pulled off the seemingly impossible by making Andrew Lloyd Webber’s megamusical look cool on Broadway. The production’s radical concept brings the queer audacity of Harlem Ballroom culture to these feline proceedings. For their imaginative daring, co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch were justly honored as were costume designer Qween Jean and choreographers Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, among the production’s notable awards.

“Chess,” which was strangely overlooked in the best musical revival category (“The Rocky Horror Show” strutted in instead), may not have managed to overcome the challenge of this over-elaborate geopolitical tale, even with a puckish new book. But the production made Nicholas Christopher a likely future Tony winner star.

What was old was new again on Broadway, but let’s hope that producers can still believe that the best is ahead of us.

“I’m Teyana Taylor, and even my abs have abs”. Scary Movie, the 2026 edition, couldn’t have started in a better way. Seeing the real One Battle After Another actress embracing an even more badass and hilarious version of herself as she takes on Ghostface is such a fun, brilliant piece of filmmaking. This opening sequence shows exactly what this franchise does best. Using recent happenings, such as Taylor’s Oscar loss this February, as inspiration for scary stories that feel authentic, ingenious, and timely. Along the way, several standout guest appearances pop up and twists that genuinely catch you off guard. However, those inspiring and amusing moments are quite scarce in this latest instalment.

It certainly isn’t for lack of trying, though. From Sinners to Smile and from Wednesday (or in this case, Tuesday) to Weapons, there are plenty of horror nods. Mix in a few headline-grabbing controversies, ongoing social debates, and a dash of COVID-era absurdity, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a comedic horror film. Yet those aspects follow one another at a rapid pace rather than forming a coherent story. A story that brings back the Scary Movie OG’s, Anna Faris (Smiley Face), Regina King (Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.), Marlon Wayans (The Curse Of Bridge Hollow), and Shawn Wayans (White Chicks), to protect their families, friends and loved ones from Ghostface, who’s on the loose again. 

Along the way, they not only get help from friends but also face even more struggles; their past seems to haunt them in more than one way. Reclusive survivalist Cindy (Faris) is trying to restore her relationship with her estranged daughters, Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), while Brenda (Hall) tries to stay young by being a house mother. Meanwhile, Shorty (Marlon Wayans) is emerging as an internet podcaster who lightly engages with the manosphere while earning significant income from lowbrow but enjoyable video content. When Ghostface crashes one of his recordings, it doesn’t only end in a murder (but whose?), but also in one of the few hilarious moments in this feature. 

It’s during the scenes between Shorty and the masked villain that Scary Movie finds its groove. This is largely because of the drugs smoked in the scenes, but also Shorty’s well-known, contagious laugh. It’s great to see Wayans back in his element, grabbing the chance to lean into his weed-loving, eccentric persona and running with it. His co-leads, Faris and King, once reunite again as Cindy and Brenda, who, despite the former being a republican with racial views (according to the packed script), fight evil side by side again.

However, neither Faris nor King is given much to work with in this film, largely due to the abundance of supporting characters and newcomers, leaving them feeling like an afterthought. Because director Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) clearly tries to pack in as many references and characters as possible — like M3GAN, Final Destination, and even Michael — the story quickly becomes too superficial and moves too fast.

While a horror pastiche like this can certainly be lighthearted and goofy, it also has to have some substance (no pun intended, as Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 work makes an appearance, too). Sadly, that’s not the case. On top of that, the crude jokes, gross-out humour, and self-referential Easter eggs that make up much of the feature barely land. What initially works as satire eventually wears thin through repetition, becoming progressively less amusing and increasingly awkward. Ultimately, the movie feels empty and largely lifeless.

Beyond its horror parodies, the film attempts to use shock value as social commentary. Pronouns (mainly they/them) and gender transitions are pushed to the forefront, alongside ICE-, DEI-, and Epstein-related jokes in an already overcrowded narrative. But rather than provoking a reaction or the intended applause, the shock factor is effectively zero.

Fortunately, the third act finally delivers what we’ve been waiting for, giving Faris her long-overdue moment to shine. In a Ballerina-inspired sequence, she enters the house of murder and horror to take on Ghostface herself. Along the way, she battles other murderous villains while avoiding harm to innocent people, which leads to some hilarious moments. It’s such a shame that she doesn’t get the chance to show those amazing fighting skills and comedy talent in the rest of the movie. 

It’s been 13 years since Scary Movie V nearly brought this franchise — originally starting as foolish yet lucrative — to its end. Yes, despite that painfully unfunny feature, the Wayans creative team certainly think that there’s still some life in this film series. However, if this Scary Movie doesn’t convince them that it’s time to box up this saga once and for all, we don’t know what will. 

Scary Movie is out now in cinemas courtesy of Paramount