Scary Movie First Reviews: It Has Moments, but It’s Not as Edgy (or Funny) as It Thinks It Is
Critics say the spoof revival's attempts at transgressive humor come across as juvenile and it relies too much on pop culture references, but there are some big laughs.
The horror-comedy sequel Scary Movie hits theaters this weekend, and the first reviews are now online. While sharing its title with the 2000 original, this is the sixth installment of the franchise, which primarily parodies the Scream movies, and it directly follows Scary Movie 2. Many of the first two films’ cast are back for the revival, including Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Cheri Oteri. While not all the humor lands, there may be enough laughs to appeal to longtime fans, who will also enjoy seeing the old ensemble back together.
Here’s what critics are saying about Scary Movie:
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Does it live up to the original Scary Movie?
It’s just as lewd, idiotic, and patently offensive as expected.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Scary Movie isn’t quite up to the level of the first film in the franchise. While it maintains that film’s strengths, the humor doesn’t feel as fresh as it once did.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
This 2026 revival feels like a hollow imitation of its predecessors, replicating surface-level elements whilst entirely missing the creative spark that made them work.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Scary Movie’s failure to live up to its ancestors is all the more disappointing given that it’s arriving in a theatrical landscape teeming with the very types of features it loves to parody.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
It’s mostly pretty rubbish, juvenile, and filthy, with the occasional moment of comic gold, just like the other Scary Movies.
— George Simpson, Daily Express
Could it save the franchise?
With young audiences starved for big-screen comedies, its hodgepodge of underlined references and dirty sex jokes will likely prove a winning combination.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
They make a pretty endearing case for why this spoof franchise deserves to live on and that it will always have new jokes to deliver.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
How is the script?
No one really goes to a Scary Movie for the plot, but it would be nice if scenes actually connected to each other and made sense in context instead of just moving on to the next film scene the Wayanses want to spoof.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
The screenplay seems wholly uninterested in narrative structure, character development, or even basic coherence.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Does it pack in the jokes?
There are sequences that had my audience laughing loudly, followed almost immediately by stretches of awkward silence where punchlines seemed to drift into the room and die on arrival.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Deliciously humorous with a smattering of knockdown laughs that will have audiences rolling… Scary Movie goes south with sluggish pacing that dips after every good belly laugh.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The jokes arrive at machine-gun pace, yet almost none of them land.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
There’s little reason to expect consistency from an affair that’s predicated on rat-a-tat-tat nonsense… Nonetheless, Tiddes’ film strains to generate the hilarious momentum necessary to overshadow its shoddy construction.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Are there enough good laughs to make it worth watching?
You will laugh more than yawn, so that tips the scales to slightly positive.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Thankfully, the bits that land do so with the force of a canister of nitrous oxide. It’s a quick, artificial high, but it’ll make you laugh… The funniest bits are genuinely hilarious.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
It isn’t the trainwreck some may fear, nor does it sink to the depths of the later sequels. There are laughs here. Some of them are genuinely excellent.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
What kind of comedy does it do best?
Physical beats play consistently better than any of the film’s sharpest written satire.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
The slapstick sequences frequently deliver some of the film’s biggest laughs.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Often, the humor about the business of movies is funnier than the sketch comedy riffs.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Is it as fearless as the original movie?
It’s as brash as it should be.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
Those with thin skin and delicate sensibilities, be warned.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The marketing promised that every line would be crossed. The reality is considerably tamer.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
To their credit, the Wayans don’t entirely retreat from controversy… but much of the film’s dicier material comes off as weirdly effortful instead of reckless.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
Many of the gags are not merely tasteless but actively unpleasant… The film reaches again and again for crude, juvenile, or outright uncomfortable material, seemingly convinced that crossing a line constitutes wit. It doesn’t.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Scary Movie’s stabs at timeliness… is rather weak stuff, and hardly as boundary-pushing as the Wayanses think it is.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
For all their willingness to offend, the Wayanses don’t have anything to say with their jokes, rendering them toothless.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Does it help to be familiar with the movies it parodies?
More often than not, it’s humor designed to congratulate viewers for properly recognizing its cine-citations, and only sporadically does it truly hit the bullseye.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
The film mistakes recognition for comedy, assuming audiences will laugh simply because they understand what is being referenced. Put simply, they won’t.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
It often feels like the movie assumes audiences will laugh simply because they understand the reference. Sometimes they do. Most of the time, they don’t.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Which ones get the best spoofs?
The majority of scenes spoofing Scream (2022) are especially clever and funny as intended.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
The best bit with Ghostface involves a smart and hilarious takeoff on The Substance where Cheri Oteri, doing her best Demi Moore, gets sliced open by the masked Scream icon and out comes the Unredacted Epstein Files. I laughed.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
A particularly inspired background gag involving a Final Destination-themed amusement park is among the funniest moments.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
A background gag involving Final Destination Bloodlines lands beautifully, and an extra vicious joke aimed at last year’s I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot demands big (if reluctant) laughs.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
Does it have anything interesting to say about the current state of the horror genre?
Scary Movie works just enough as a statement on legacy sequels as it does on the Wayans’ own Hollywood legacy.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
The more direct critiques of horror tropes usually land, but this franchise ran out of things to say on that front quite a long time ago, so they’re few and far between.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
The satirical series’ long overdue revival doesn’t seem entirely sure what story it wants to tell about the horror genre itself.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
Is it great to see the Wayans brothers back for this one?
In all honesty, it feels good to have the Wayans brothers back where they belong.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
If you love the Wayans brothers, you’re in for a treat. Moreover, there is something actually sweet and charming in the way the Wayans frame their return metatextually.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
Shawn and Marlon still possess the chaotic comic energy that helped define the franchise in its early years… Their natural charisma often carries scenes through sheer force of personality.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
The good news is that the Wayans have still mostly reclaimed the franchise they founded… For longtime Scary Movie fans, that development alone carries enough genuine emotional weight to make a trip to the movie theater worthwhile.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
How is Anna Faris?
Among the cast, Faris seems to be having the most fun and livens this up.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
She’s once again the best part of the film with a different take on her character.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Faris remains the MVP as Cindy Campbell… [She] finds surprising ways to make bland or flat jokes at least feel sincere.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
Faris remains the secret weapon she always was. Her gift for physical comedy, impeccable timing, and complete commitment to absurdity haven’t diminished one bit.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Does she still have great chemistry with Regina Hall?
The chemistry between Hall and Faris remains one of the franchise’s greatest strengths.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Cindy and Brenda back in the same room is the closest the film comes to working, with small and precise comic timing that survives even inert material.
— Josh Korngut, Dread Central
Why [Faris] and Hall don’t share more screen time is, in light of their prior collaborations, a baffling mystery, and it amplifies the impression that this venture was put together on the fly.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Are any of the new cast members worth mentioning?
The new cast members match [the old] shot for roofied Jell-O shot (special shout-out to Keegan, who channels Faris’s energy and way of speaking with uncanny accuracy).
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Olivia Rose Keegan makes for inspired casting as Cindy’s daughter, Sarah. The 26-year-old actress does a pitch-perfect Faris impression.
— Alison Foreman, IndieWire
This is where the reboot truly stumbles. The new generation of characters never feels like fully realised comedic creations in their own right.
— Doug Jamieson, The Jam Report
Should they make more of these?
If it’s successful enough to earn the Wayanses another sequel, well, at least they’ll get the chance to tackle the contemporary frightfests presently ruling the hearts and minds of their target demographic.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
If the Wayans want to poke fun at Obsession or Backrooms in the next one, is that really such a bad thing?
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
Scary Movie opens in theaters June 5, 2026. Get your tickets here.
