After being absent from the ‘Scary Movie’ film franchise for over two decades, Shawn and Marlon Wayans have made their return to the series in the recently released film.
The film is the sixth movie in the series, which brings the brothers on as co-writers as well and reunites the duo with Anna Faris and Regina Hall, the female leads from the original Scary Movie which was released in 2000.The reunion of the Core Four brings the chemistry the four actors had onscreen together in the original that was missing when the Wayans brothers departed the series after Scary Movie 2.
The series is based on parodying an array of recent horror films, and the tropes that those films tackled and in the new Scary Movie Scream 5 which was simply called Scream is the main horror movie that is parodied this time around. Like in the original Scary Movie, this time around Faris’ Cindy, Hall’s character Brenda, Marlon’s Shorty and Shawn Wayans’ Ray deal with a current Ghostface, having to navigate the new rules of horror film reboot tropes. The series veterans are joined this time around by newcomers to the franchise Olivia Rose Keegan, Cameron Scott Roberts, Savannah Lee Nassif and Sydney Park to name a few. Also Wayans family members that weren’t in previous installments of the series such as Kim Wayans, Gregg Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. make their Scary Movie debuts in the new film.
As the film progresses aside from Scream, their are moments that parody 2018’s Halloween, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ma, The Substance, Terrifier 3, Sinners, Smile, Weapons, and,M3GAN. Some of the jokes in regards to the parodied films land well like a moment mocking I Know What You Did Last Summer and the scene parodying Terrifier 3.
One of the main moments in which could be considered one of the strongest and best moments of the film is the opening scene. The scene features a surprise appearance from a recently first time Academy Award nominee, whose presence was a captivating and interesting addition to the film. There is also another surprise guest appearance from a well known streamer that seemed perfectly fit for that particular scene and wouldn’t have succeeded if they weren’t a part of that scene.
Keegan has her moments to shine, which she does in her scenes with Faris, somewhat even paying homage to Faris’ character. One point of mention however is that the Wayans family members who were not a part of previous films in the series share very little or no screen time with Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Shawn and Marlon Wayans’ characters however remain the same in terms of persona from the original, while Hall’s Brenda has taken on a Ma look and persona.
Overall Scary Movie thrives on the Wayans brothers presence and them taking back ownership and control of what they started over twenty years ago. However in the viewer having to rely too much on knowing and appreciating the films that were parodied in order to fully understand the jokes and moments made them not land how they may have intended to at times. Scary Movie is currently in theaters.
