Review of Scary Movie (2000) by Filipeneto — 23 Jan 2021

This adolescent film (one of the most abominable cinematographic genres) was made to mock some well-known horror films. The clearest victim was Wes Craven's film "Scream", but if we pay attention we will see scenes that satirize other films such as "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "Blair Witch Project" or "Sixth Sense". Interestingly (or perhaps not so much), the working title of "Scream" was "Scary Movie" and the studio responsible for the two films is the same: Dimension Films. Talking about the plot here would be not only redundant, but it seems to me a mistake: by mentioning the most spoofed films here, I think I have already left enough clues about the plot. Whoever wants to know more, please go see the film.

The film is a satire, it was made to entertain, and it is clearly aimed at young audiences, so it is better not to be expecting something complex or a dramatic show. This is not a movie designed to win Oscars or anything like that. It is a film to make people laugh, for the easy laugh of teenagers who don't think much, love eschatological humor or suffer from a serious obsession with everything related to sexuality. But that does not mean that it is a bad or abominable film, as many teen films really are. In fact, it turned out to be a pleasant film, one that you can't revisit often or make us laugh out loud (although it varies from one person to another) but it will put some smiles in the most circumspect audiences. For me, the film has both good and bad things: I don't like such an immoral humor, but it is impossible not to laugh at some situations. Parodying horror films also helps, although the choice of these films is debatable.

The cast is led by Anna Faris, and she does a satisfying job, just as Regina Hall and Jon Abrahams, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans are decent enough, but do not exceed the average. Carmen Electra does not work well as an actress, she appears only to show her generous cleavage whenever necessary, and Shannon Elizabeth is not much better than her. But the one who really does badly in this film is Dave Sheridan, thanks to the horrible and offensive character that happened to him. There is a limit between being politically incorrect and being offensive, and the character Duffy overcomes that limit by the insulting way in which he portrays a mentally retarded man. And it's not even worth mentioning the fact that this character is annoying and not funny at all.