Scary Movie (film series)

The Scary Movie series is a series of films mainly specializing in spoofing several popular horror films, which have collectively grossed over $818 million at the box-office worldwide. The two main recurring actors of the series are Anna Faris and Regina Hall as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks, and are also joined by new or recurring actors and characters.

The franchise was conceptualized by The Wayans Brothers who wrote and directed the first two films before leaving the franchise. They were distributed by Dimension Films through two different studios: Miramax Films, as it was originally the studio's genre film label during executive producers Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein's run and produced the first three films, and The Weinstein Company, the brothers' newly formed studio, which currently produces the rest of the series' release after departing from Miramax and taking the Dimension Films label with them. Miramax Films (Buena Vista Distribution) retains international distribution rights.

Plot

Scary Movie

Scary Movie (July 7, 2000) is the first film in the series. Scary Movie was the highest grossing film of the series, grossing $278,019,771 worldwide. It is a spoof of several films, with a focus on the Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer series.^[1]

After a group of teenagers (consisting of Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), Bobby Prinze (Jon Abrahams), Buffy Gilmore (Shannon Elizabeth), Greg Phillipe (Lochlyn Munro), Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans), Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), and Shorty Meeks (Marlon Wayans) accidentally hit an old man with their car they decide to dump his body in a lake and never talk about it again (in a spoof of I Know What You Did Last Summer). A year later a person with a Scream mask kills them one by one. The group attempts to find the identity of the killer.

Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 2 (July 4, 2001) is the second in franchise. In the U.S., the film grossed $71,308,997. Worldwide, it grossed $141,220,678. Although being a hit, out of the four Scary Movie films, this is the least successful to date.^[2] This is one of two Scary Movie films to receive an R-rating and also marks the end of the Wayans siblings' involvement with the series.

The film starts with a parody of The Exorcist, in which Megan Voorhees (sharing the same last name as the notorious fictional serial killer Jason Voorhees) is possessed by the devil, and two priests, Father McFeely and Father Harris (James Woods and Andy Richter respectively) have to force the devil out. But after Megan insults Harris's mother he shoots her in the head.

Cindy, Brenda, Ray, and Shorty, characters who all had died in the first film, mysteriously return in this film. Greg, Buffy, and Bobby are replaced by Buddy (Christopher Masterson), Theo (Kathleen Robertson), and Alex (Tori Spelling).

The film then merges into a parody of Rose Red with story beginning when a college professor, Professor Oldman (Tim Curry) and his wheel-chair bound assistant, Dwight (David Cross), plan to study ghosts inside a haunted mansion with the clueless teens as bait.

When at the house, strange things happen, Ray gets attacked by a clown (who he also rapes), Shorty gets attacked by a living marijuana plant, Cindy gets in a fight with a possessed cat, and Dwight has an argument with a bad mouthed pet bird. When they find out about the professor's plan they try to escape the house, finding out that there is a ghost who still lives in the house. They must defeat the ghost in order to escape.

Scary Movie 3

Scary Movie 3 (October 24, 2003) is the third film in the series. With $220,673,217 earned worldwide,^[3] it is second most successful film in the series. The plot of the film is a spoof of The Ring and Signs as well as several other films and celebrities. Michael Jackson planned to sue the filmmakers for parodying him in such a way that made him seem like a child molester and having a fake nose.^[4] This was the first Scary Movie film to receive a PG-13 rating in the United States^[3] as well as the first to have no involvement from the Wayans family.^[5][6]

The film revolves around strange crop circles found near an old farm and the circulation of an unusual videotape. Upon watching this tape, the phone rings and a creepy voice says: "You're going to die in seven days". Cindy falls in love with a rapper named George (a parody of Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. of 8 Mile), when she hears that she is to die in seven days. Meanwhile, the farmers who discovered the crop circles in their corn field learn that extraterrestrials are coming to Earth come to destroy the killer responsible for the deaths of those who have watched the tape.

Scary Movie 4

Scary Movie 4 (April 14, 2006) is the 4th in the series. The film opened with $40 Million at the weekend box office, making it the third best opening in the series. With a $178,049,620 at the worldwide box office, Scary Movie 4 ranks as the third highest grossing Scary Movie.

This film’s main plot is a mix of The Grudge and War of the Worlds with major scenes spoofing Saw, The Village, Million Dollar Baby, and Brokeback Mountain.

Scary Movie 5

The fifth film was officially confirmed by the Weinstein Company in 2009.^[7][8] David Zucker is expected to be returning as director while the series' main stars Anna Faris, Anthony Anderson and Regina Hall have all expressed interest in returning for the sequel. The only other new actor to be confirmed was Final Destination 3 star Chelan Simmons.^[9][10] In June 2011, a release date was announced for April 20, 2012.^[11][12] Zucker expressed interest in spoofing the Final Destination film series, as well as Paranormal Activity, and the Child's Play film series.^[13]

Main characters

• Cindy Campbell, Throughout the course of the franchise, Cindy transitions from a naive high school student to a working-class adult. Cindy is a beautiful, good-intentioned, yet accident prone young woman who manages to unravel the mysteries in all four films. In Scary Movie 3, she is the legal guardian of her nephew Cody, who she ships off to military school in Scary Movie 4. Despite her poor history with relationships, she has a new love interest in every film. She initially was a parody of Neve Campbell's character Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise, but the character was later adjusted to be a parody of the female protagonist of the main film each Scary Movie parodies, as she was a parody of Naomi Watts' character from The Ring in Scary Movie 3 and Sarah Michelle Gellar's character from The Grudge in Scary Movie 4. She appears in all four films. She is portrayed by Anna Faris.

• Brenda Meeks, Cindy's sex-crazed best friend. A ghetto-fabulous young woman who is very loud and aggressive. She dies in the 1st and 3rd films, but how she comes back to life is never explained. In the first two films, she dated Ray Wilkins. Her brother is Shorty Meeks, who also only appears in the first two films. Though she suspected something odd about Ray, she was oblivious to the fact he is attracted to other men. She is a parody of singer-actress Brandy's character in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. She is portrayed by Regina Hall. She appears in all four films. Her role in Scary Movie 3 was brief and is credited as a special appearance.

• George Logan, Cindy's love interest in Scary Movie 3. He is Tom Logan's easily discouraged younger brother and is friends with Mahalik. He originally wanted to be a rapper but after a failed rap battle, he gives up. He is hesistant to settle down and start a family, as he feels he isn't good at anything. In the end, he gets over that fear and marries Cindy. He makes a brief cameo in Scary Movie 4 as it is revealed that he died before the events of Scary Movie 4, as it is shown in a flashback in a parody of Million Dollar Baby. As Cindy is about to fall on a stool and break her neck, George saves her by jumping in the way but he unintentionally kills himself, leading a chain reaction of multiple people breaking their necks and dying. Cindy appeared to still be grieving his death. He is both a parody of Joaquin Phoenix's character in Signs, and Eminem's character in 8 Mile. He appears in Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4 and is portrayed by Simon Rex.

• Ray Wilkins, Brenda's former boyfriend. Although he was obviously in love with Brenda, it is heavily implied that Ray is a closet homosexual or bisexual as he finds other men attractive and sometimes behaves in a feminine manner, though he confirmed at the end of the 1st film that he was straight after a misunderstanding. Strangely, Ray tries to kill Cindy along with her boyfriend Bobby (Jon Abrahams) but in Scary Movie 2 they are friends again, and he even saves her life from the Hell House Ghost (Richard Moll). He dies at the end of the original but returns in the second film, as do Brenda and Shorty. He appears in Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2. He is portrayed by Shawn Wayans.

• Shorty Meeks, Brenda's brother. He is a stereotypical stoner who speaks in urban slang who frequently puts the word "son" at the end of almost every sentence. He is shown to be good friends with Cindy and Ray. His catchphrase is "Oh shit, son!". Like Brenda and Ray, he dies in the original film and appears in the sequel. Though his killer Bobby does mention that killing Shorty wasn't planned. He is a parody of Jamie Kennedy's character Randy Meeks from the Scream franchise. He appears in Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2. However in Scary Movie 3, it seems as though Shorty never existed as Brenda was portrayed as an only child, and there was no mention of Shorty or any other siblings. He is portrayed by Marlon Wayans.

• Tom Logan, George's older brother. He is a depressed farmer and single parent, still grieving over his late wife, Annie (Denise Richards). He was once a pastor. In the end, he regains his faith and becomes a pastor again. Tom makes a brief cameo at the beginning of Scary Movie 4, reverting back to his depression. This time, his depression is spurred by the death of George. He puts himself out of his misery and commits suicide by leaping over his condo balcony. He is a parody of Mel Gibson's character in Signs. He is portrayed by Charlie Sheen, though his appearance in Scary Movie 4 is uncredited. Sheen is currently in talks to return for the upcoming Scary Movie 5. It is currently unknown if he will reprise his original role or if he will portray a different character.

• Mahalik, a good friend of George's who first appears in Scary Movie 3. He is a rapper who sports long dreadlocks. He frequently goes off into a long debate with his buddy CJ (Kevin Hart) over what something really is or possibly could be (for instance, can a mouse be a rat when it's indoors). He is a parody of Mekhi Phifer's character in 8 Mile. He appears in Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4. He is portrayed by Anthony Anderson.

• CJ, Mahalik's best friend and sidekick. Like Mahalik, he is also a rapper who frequently accompanies Mahalik everywhere he goes. He appears to be quite dimwitted and hyperactive. He appears in Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4. He is portrayed by Kevin Hart.

Cast

Reception

Box office performance

Critical reaction

References

External links

Box Office Mojo:

• Scary Movie Series Grosses at Box Office Mojo
• Scary Movie at Box Office Mojo
• Scary Movie 2 at Box Office Mojo
• Scary Movie 3 at Box Office Mojo
• Scary Movie 4 at Box Office Mojo

Internet Movie Database:

• Scary Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• Scary Movie 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Scary Movie 3 at the Internet Movie Database
• Scary Movie 4 at the Internet Movie Database
• Scary Movie 5 at the Internet Movie Database

Rotten Tomatoes:

• Scary Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
• Scary Movie 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Scary Movie 3 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Scary Movie 4 at Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic:

• Scary Movie at Metacritic
• Scary Movie 2 at Metacritic
• Scary Movie 3 at Metacritic
• Scary Movie 4 at Metacritic