“Yo, if y’all watchin’ this tape right now, that means I didn’t make it. Either I’m a prisoner, or, worse, dead. But, either way it goes, I’mma tell y’all the rules to survive this situation. Rule number one: you gotta be quick. Rule number two: don’t fall down. And rule number three: whatever you do, never look back. Y’all wish me luck.”
The film that started it all. The Wayans’ family masterpiece. There are a lot of things I can say about this parody film that served as the blueprint for all the parodies that would come. I think it goes without saying that Scary Movie is the definitive blueprint for the modern cinematic spoof, a crude yet undeniably sharp demolition of late-1990s pop culture. Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans, the film took the self-aware DNA of Wes Craven’s Scream and infused it with a relentless barrage of slapstick gags and served as a breakout film for Regina Hall and Ana Farris as well as the cinematic careers for Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Rounding out the cast in supporting roles were Shannon Elizabeth, Carmen Electra, Cheri Oteri, and Lochlyn Munro. This marked the return of the Wayans family to the franchise after over 25 years, and while that was exciting to see, it didn’t come close to the film that started it all.
Scary Movie directly mocks the plot of late-90s slasher films that inspired it, primarily Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The story followed a group of popular high school teenagers: the naive Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), her boyfriend, Bobby (Jon Abrahams), the hyper-sexualized Buffy (Shannon Elizabeth), the arrogant jock, Greg (Lochlyn Munro), the loud-mouthed Brenda (Regina Hall), and the perpetually-stoned Shorty (Marlon Wayans). Exactly one year after accidentally killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run and dumping his body in a lake, the teens find themselves stalked by a clumsy serial killer wearing a distorted Ghostface mask. As the body count rises, Cindy realizes the killer is targeting their specific friend group. The narrative follows the exact structural beats of Scream, but between the murders, the film detoured to spoof other blockbusters films of the era, mostly horror films, including The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, and The Usual Suspects.
“Sometimes we do things we’re not so proud of. Some for money, others to gain the athletic edge on the competition. Sometimes those secrets come back to haunt us. Do you know what I mean?”
As mentioned earlier, this film helped launch the career of several talented individuals who are continuing to have impact on the industry today. First there’s Anna Farris, who acted as the film central character and narrative focus. She anchored the film by channeling a wide-eyed, hyper-oblivious innocence that perfectly satirized the classic “final girl” archetype. Then there’s Regina Hall; she showcased a fiery, explosive, and deeply superb comic timing as Brenda Meeks, elevating ordinary reaction shots into iconic pop-culture moments, such as the hilarious movie theater scene. In this scene, Hall’s character abandoned basic movie theater etiquette and proceeded to talk loudly back to the screen and screaming at the characters. She escalated matters by answering her cell phone, pulling out a full-sized blender to make noise, and loudly crunching popcorn. This effectively turned the entire theater audience into a raging mob, leading to them to brutally attack and Brenda themselves, completely beating the actual Ghostface killer to the punch. Finally, we have Marlon Wayan’s Shorty, the quintessential stoner character, who elevated stoner gags into highly memorable comedic sequences. I don’t think I need to say more than … Wassup.
Ironically my favorite gag of the film didn’t feature any of the three. It was actually between Ghostface and Shannon Elizabeth’s character, where the latter openly mocked her character arc while willing succumbing to it. My favorite joke at least featured the main cast, but the line was delivered by a cameo character, specifically a homeless man, who was suffice it to say dissatisfied with what he received when he asked for a dollar..
Video
Scary Movie is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition 2160p image is arrived at by an HEVC codec with an average bitrate of 65-70 mbps. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is faithful to the original film. The Dolby Vision and resolution bump is found in two places specifically. You get a huge difference in the colors. They stand out back to back as if they were two different films. Blues really pop. Of course, the biggest gain is in the contrast and black levels. A lot of this film happens in dark spaces, and the blacks gain a huge depth, which also provides finer detail in shadow definition. The white mask against dark pops much more now than it did in earlier releases.
Audio
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is a bit of a disappointment here. You would think this film would get the Dolby Atmos treatment when it found its way to UHD. The audio isn’t really an improvement. Dialog cuts just fine, and the musical cues are pretty clear, but the release doesn’t end up with quite the bump in the subs which weren’t really delivering here. It’s an average audio presentation that doesn’t quite match up to the image upgrade.
Special Features
There is a Blu-ray copy that ports over the original DVD features, and there are no extras on the UHD disc.
Final Thoughts:
Ultimately, Scary Movie continues to serve as a foundational masterpiece of modern cinematic parody that still has an enduring grip on pop culture. By treating the rigid blueprints of late-90s slasher films with absolute irreverence, the Wayans family crafted a fast-paced, one-of-a-kind comedy. The film’s brilliant execution showcased its exceptional ensemble cast, while also pushing the boundaries with shock value, iconic catchphrases, and unforgettable gags that elevated it far above lookalike spoofs that followed, thereby securing its legacy as a timeless and wildly influential comedy classic.
Parts of this review were written by Gino Sassani
