SCARY MOVIE 6 (2026)

Movie spoofs are a tricky business. They require unbridled abandon and costly commitments to mimicking their target’s aesthetic with precise send-ups and a follow through to the ridiculous with, hopefully, some wit. It’s no joke to be this serious about silliness. When done well, this brand of humour tickles the funny bone’s meta parts. But when it fails, it’s, to me at least, far worse than a typical throwaway joke, because of the effort. All that planning and energy often culminates into a courtesy eye roll at best. The set-up is really a cheat of sorts. One starts at the half-way point, with the site gag, a parody, a full-scale diorama of an original work to do the heavy lifting and is already a joke in itself, as in: Haha I know that this is a reference to a serious movie, so I’m already laughing at the subversion. Think The Untouchables (1987) spoof from the Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) opening credits. It was a lofty undertaking requiring enormous effort. It’s one big ridiculous joke and the extremeness could have you rolling those eyes if not for Leslie Neilson’s Detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin’s permanent “thinking” straight face as the baby carriages roll down the staircase before him. They hit the ground running with the exact look, feel and music and it’s simply a matter of staying committed and ending with an exclamation point of sorts; a reference or comment we didn’t see coming, or, in Neilson’s case, it was almost always his absolute, authoritative, unwavering seriousness. Of course, not all of the exclamation points can be winners, but with enough nonsense stacked up and up and up, you have the coveted classic spoof. Think Blazing Saddles, (1974), Airplane (1980), Spaceballs (1987), Scary Movie (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001). New spoof on the block Scary Movie 6 (2026) is unfortunately not going to join them. And it’s a shame, because the horror-spoofing franchise, at it’s core, is a send up of a send-up, namely the already self-aware Scream films that have now, unamusingly, lost the plot. Scary Movie’s ongoing meta-heavy premise continues with an overarching inside joke and ending that is, well, not bad, if overly indulgent to the players and their histories. But I liked its humility and how they go after the escalating idiocy of the most recent Scream films. The problem is, for the most part, the other horror references and elaborate set-ups mostly end up being nothing more than set-ups/halfway-there jokes. As in: Look we referenced Longlegs (2024) and have the wherewithal to bring in surrealist legend and Scary Movie alumni Chris Elliot to play the pale and unsettling wig-wearing satanist. And then what do they do with this circumstance with potential? They quit before they find the funny. I started to question if, in some instances, the writers watched anything beyond the trailers of a few of the recent horror films they were trying to make fun of, e.g. Weapons (2025), It Follows (2014) and Longlegs (2024). And where were the Midsommar (2019) and Hereditary (2018) references? My biggest disappointment was The Substance (2024) piece with Cheri Oteri. **SPOILER ALERT** Demi Moore stand-in Oteri writhes around on her checkerboard floor and what should climb out of her back? The Epstein files. What? Besides being unfunny, it doesn’t make any sense. My guess is that they were hoping it would come across as clever and more Hollywood insidery. It doesn’t. The Sinners (2025) reference starts with the opening church scene and should have been cut in its entirety, ‘cuz again, it just doesn’t work, despite looking good. Still, the white vampires facing Regina Hall asking to be invited in is funny, thanks in large part to Hall’s timing and the outrageous commitment given by all of the new younger replacement characters. Cameron Scott Roberts and Olivia Rose Keegan in particular are having what should be an infectiously good time, and all have potential for good futures as comedic actors given this showcase. Which brings us to the franchises’ star Anna Faris. Like Neilson before her, Faris ingeniously and instinctively gave us the exclamation points required in the first two Scary Movies. She knew just what to do, never stealing a scene, but grounding each with Cindy’s guileless naïveté as the open-faced parody of the final girl Sydney Prescott. Unfortunately, Faris looks frightened in this latest round, and not comedically. There’s one scene in particular where she doesn’t appear to even know where she is, let alone filming something as specific as a horror comedy spoof. I fear her real-life demons are taking a toll and the opportunities for comedic brilliance are too blurred for her to recognize. And it’s a shame because I think she’s, in-line with Hall, one of the greats within the genre. Unfortunately, Scary Movie 6 fails to uphold its original intent to continually merge two beloved film categories. Let’s face it, the Scary Movies are not made by, or for, fans of scary movies. We know this. Akin to the trusted, quirky boyfriend who’s always the killer, that’s the twist.