Review of Scary Movie 4 (2006) by Maxe. — 19 Apr 2006

There is a fine line between parody and satire, and it seems to me, especially from seeing the Scary Movie films, that only one of these genres work. How can I clarify this? Scary Movie is a parody. This is Spinal Tap is a satire.

Parodies poke fun at something and sometimes retell a story in a comic or ridiculing way. Satires usually create their own story and actually play to be fans of the works they are mimicking. Either can be funny and that is what their intentions are, they are usually sub-genres of comedy.

The problem with The Scary Movie films are they are parodies that keep poking fun at something that it continuously keeps doing so that you almost pitty the work they are mimicking. These movies parody horror movies, usually of the last few years, though the first two movies in the franchise played off the classics.

I found this in much better taste, considering more people could get a kick out of them. The last two films do just the opposite and it is clear that the movies have established their target audience, the people who have gone to the theater to go see these recent crappy horror films.