Okay, let's rewind the tape... back to the year 2000. The dial-up modem was screeching its song, the Y2K bug hadn't ended the world, and the shelves of Blockbuster were groaning under the weight of late-90s teen slashers trying so hard to be clever and scary. Then, like a pie in the face during a final girl showdown, Scary Movie landed. It wasn't subtle, it wasn't sophisticated, but man, did it feel like a necessary pressure release valve for anyone who'd seen Scream one too many times.
Wazzzaaaap?! The Parody Begins
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, a man who practically defined sketch comedy for a generation with In Living Color, Scary Movie took aim squarely at the Wes Craven-iverse and its followers. Primarily spoofing Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), the plot loosely follows a group of clueless high schoolers stalked by a Ghostface-esque killer after they accidentally hit a man with their car and dumped the body. Sound familiar? That was exactly the point. But woven into this framework was a relentless barrage of gags lampooning everything from The Sixth Sense (1999) and The Matrix (1999) to The Blair Witch Project (1999) and even The Usual Suspects (1995).
The brilliance, if you can call it that (and I affectionately do), was in its sheer audacity. This wasn't the gentle ribbing of Mel Brooks; this was shotgun-blast parody, hitting broad targets with crude, often offensive, but frequently hilarious results. Remember Cindy Campbell’s (played by a star-making Anna Faris) fight scene channeling The Matrix? Or Doofy’s (Dave Sheridan) painfully obvious secret? It felt like the class clowns were finally put in charge of the movie studio.
The Wayans Touch and Breakout Stars
You can't talk Scary Movie without acknowledging the Wayans family dynasty behind it. With Keenen Ivory directing, and brothers Marlon and Shawn Wayans co-writing and co-starring (as the perpetually baked Shorty and the ambiguously flamboyant Ray, respectively), their comedic DNA is all over this thing. Their brand of fearless, sometimes juvenile, often boundary-pushing humor, honed on In Living Color, translated perfectly to the big screen. Marlon Wayans’ Shorty Meeks became instantly quotable, a haze of smoke and pop culture riffs.
But the film arguably belonged to Anna Faris. As Cindy Campbell, she perfectly mirrored Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott while simultaneously embodying a wide-eyed, guileless absurdity that was entirely her own. Her commitment to the physical comedy and the sheer ridiculousness of her situations was phenomenal. Let's not forget Regina Hall as Brenda Meeks, whose sassy, movie-savvy commentary often stole the show. Her infamous "movie theater" scene is perhaps one of the most remembered (and debated) moments.
Shock Value That Paid Off Big Time
Let's be honest, a lot of the humor in Scary Movie relies on gross-out gags and jokes that probably wouldn't fly today. It pushed the R-rating envelope hard, reportedly even battling the MPAA to avoid the dreaded NC-17. But back in 2000, that shock value was part of the appeal. It felt gleefully anarchic. And audiences ate it up. Made for a reported $19 million (about $34 million in today's money), Scary Movie exploded at the box office, raking in a staggering $278 million worldwide (nearly half a billion adjusted for inflation!). It wasn't just a hit; it was a phenomenon, proving there was a massive appetite for laughing at the horror tropes we'd been taking so seriously.
This film practically arrived at the peak of the VHS rental era, just as DVD was starting its takeover. I definitely remember seeing that distinctive cover art countless times on the "New Releases" wall, often right next to the very films it was mocking. It was the perfect Friday night rental with friends, guaranteed to elicit gasps, groans, and uncontrollable laughter, often all at the same time. Finding a copy that wasn't already rented out on a Saturday night felt like a minor victory.
Behind the Mask: A Few Retro Fun Facts
Digging through the archives, it’s fun to remember this project started life under titles like Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell on Friday the 13th before settling on the simpler, punchier Scary Movie. Dimension Films, the genre arm of Miramax run by the Weinstein brothers (who, ironically, also distributed Scream), initially bought the script penned by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, and Phil Beauman. They later brought in Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (who would go on to make a career out of lesser parody films) for rewrites, though the core Wayans humor remained dominant. There were rumours that Alicia Silverstone and Reese Witherspoon were considered for Cindy, but it's hard to imagine anyone but Faris nailing that blend of innocence and absurdity.
The Verdict
Scary Movie isn't high art. Its humor is broad, sometimes crass, and certain jokes haven't aged gracefully. But viewed in the context of its time, it was a blast of fresh, irreverent air. It successfully punctured the self-seriousness of the late-90s horror revival and launched a wave of parody films (for better or worse). The energy is infectious, Anna Faris is a revelation, and the sheer density of gags means you're likely to find something funny even on a rewatch, perhaps spotting a reference you missed the first time around. It perfectly captured that turn-of-the-millennium pop culture zeitgeist.
Rating: 7/10 – The rating reflects its massive impact, genuine laughs, and iconic status as a parody benchmark, even acknowledging the dated elements and crude humor. It did exactly what it set out to do, and did it with memorable energy.
Final Thought: It may have been one of the last big gasps of the VHS-era comedy boom, but Scary Movie proved that sometimes, the best way to show love for a genre is to mercilessly make fun of it. Still good for a laugh, especially if you remember the originals it skewered so effectively. Wazzaaaap!