Movie Review: Scary Movie (2026)
Synopsis: After locking herself inside a booby-trapped home, anticipating Ghostface's return, Cindy Campbell and her friends are drawn back into action when her daughter, Tuesday, is attacked and her other daughter, Sara, returns shows up at her door with her boyfriend, Jack, to ask for help.
Who's in it? The movie stars Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Regina Hall, Kenan Thompson, Olivia Rose Keegan and Savannah Lee Nassif.
Review: I'm not really a big nostalgia person. However, the original Scary Movie came out around the time my wife and I first started dating and ended up being the film we watched on our first movie date. As a result, it is a franchise I have paid attention to, even when there was a noticeable decline after the Wayan Brothers stopped being involved. As a result, when I saw they were making a new movie, with the Wayans returning, I decided to take my wife on another movie date.
After seeing it last night, I can honestly say I didn't hate it but, at the same time, did feel it fell short of expectations, even with the mix of returning characters, like Cindy (Faris) and the solid addition of younger actors.
There are quite a few funny moments in the film. My wife, for example, laughed a lot louder than she probably should have in a theater during the Weapons spoof while I liked the ongoing joke about everyone pretty much knowing Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts) was one of the killers from the start and the fact Shorty (Marlon Wayans) was super rich. As promised in promotional interviews, there were even some scenes that will be funny to some but very offensive to others, pushing the boundaries in a way the Wayans are known for, especially when it came to jokes about racism, drugs and sex.
I think where this movie fell short, at least in my eyes, was it relied on that too much and, unlike the earlier films, didn't put enough thought into the main story that holds it all together. While it loosely followed the Scream reboot there were plenty of times when it felt as though it was more of a sketch show than movie.
I also wasn't a fan of the characters being self-aware about being movie characters. It made the movie a bit confusing at times because it was unclear if Ghostface was stalking the movie characters or the actors who played them (and I'm still not completely certain which it was, even after the film's admittedly clever ending).
Not to mention it was unclear which previous events were canon, and which weren't. For example, Doofy's (Dave Sheridan) previous Ghostface association was mentioned but not the fact he was faking his disability. In addition, everyone seemed to forget Ray (Shawn Wayans) also tried to kill Cindy in the first film while Brenda (Hall) was stabbed to death. I understand not wanting to reference the movies that came after Scary Movie 2 but at least be consistent with the films you do choose to mention.
Final Opinion: It was an OK watch with some funny moments. However, while the Wayans re-added their flavor to the franchise, it was a major step down from their previous two films.
My Grade: C+
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Here are some reviews of other 2026 films:
Movie Review: The Sheep Detectives (2026)
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