Scary Movie

''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by  Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, and Dave Sheridan, it follows a group of teenagers who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body in a lake, and swear to secrecy. A year later, someone wearing a  Ghostface mask and robe begins hunting them one by one.

The film is a parody of multiple genres including the horror, slasher, and mystery film genres. Several 1990s films and TV shows are also spoofed, and the script primarily follows the plot of the slasher films '' Scream'' and '' I Know What You Did Last Summer''. Some films and TV shows like ''Halloween'', '' The Shining'', '' Friday the 13th'', '' The Usual Suspects'', '' The Sixth Sense'', '' The Blair Witch Project'', ''The Matrix'' and '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' were also parodied in some scenes.

Dimension Films released ''Scary Movie'' in the United States on July 7, 2000. The film grossed $278 million worldwide on a $19 million budget. It was the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year domestically in the United States. The film is the first installment in the  ''Scary Movie'' film series, as well as being the highest-grossing film in the series. The film received mixed reviews from critics, although it has received more favorable reviews from audiences. It later spawned four sequels, starting with 2001's '' Scary Movie 2''.

Plot

On Halloween night, Drew Decker receives a threatening phone call while home alone. Chased outside by somebody dressed as Ghostface, she is stripped to her bra and panties before being stabbed in the breast, removing one of her silicone implants. Her father, who is distracted by receiving fellatio, accidentally hits her with his vehicle, and she looks at her murderer just before she is fatally stabbed.

Cindy Campbell meets up with her boyfriend Bobby Prinze and her friends, Brenda Meeks, Ray Wilkins, Greg Phillippe, Buffy Gilmore, and Brenda's stoner brother Shorty. News teams, including hack reporter Gail Hailstorm, converge on the school because of Drew's murder. Gail seduces Buffy's intellectually disabled brother, Special Officer Doofy, to elicit information from him.

While in class, Cindy notices the killer watching her from outside before receiving an ominous note and realizes Drew was murdered exactly one year after she and her friends accidentally killed a man by running him over with a car then dumping his body in a lake. After football practice, Greg finds a photo of his small penis on his locker saying "I KNOW" on it. Believing Ray took the photo, he confronts him & their friends.

Cindy tells her friends about the note, attempting to convince them to tell the police, but Greg beats her instead, fearing imprisonment for the murder of the previous year. At Buffy's beauty pageant that evening, the killer murders Greg in plain view, while the audience mistakes her pleas for help as part of her dramatic reading. Buffy eventually wins the pageant and forgets Greg.

The killer attacks Cindy while home alone but retreats when she contacts the police. Bobby arrives and is arrested after a cellphone, knife, and gloves fall out of his pocket. As Cindy spends the night at Buffy and Doofy's, she receives a call from the killer.

The following day, Bobby is released from jail. Buffy is beheaded by the killer with a cleaver. That night, Gail and her cameraman Kenny go to a makeout spot to get a murder on camera. After they film the killer murdering teenager Heather, he chases them into the woods and murders Kenny. Gail later gives a snot-filled apology to Kenny's family, a parody of a scene from '' The Blair Witch Project''.

Later that night, Ray and Brenda go to the movies to see '' Shakespeare in Love'', where Ray is stabbed through his ear in a bathroom stall through a glory hole. The killer nearly murders Brenda, but angry movie patrons, weary of her obnoxious behavior in the theater, stab her to death to silence her, as revenge for spoiling several films.

Meanwhile, Cindy has a house party, hoping for safety in numbers. One of her friends, Tina, is killed while getting beer from the garage. During the party, Cindy and Bobby go upstairs and have sex. The killer gets stoned with Shorty and his friends in the basement, but accidentally kills all but Shorty. After the pair has sex, the killer stabs Bobby and disappears. Cindy gets a gun from a drawer and Bobby follows. Shorty comes up from the basement warning about the killer, but Bobby shoots him. Ray arrives on the scene, still alive, with a voice changer.

Bobby and Ray confront Cindy in the kitchen, announcing they will only kill her and her father, and that they are merely copying the real killer. Bobby admits to being gay, while Ray denies it. The plan backfires when Ray stabs and kills Bobby out of anger because his favorite show, ''The Wayans Bros.'', has been canceled after five seasons without getting a final episode. The killer abruptly arrives, murdering Ray and he fights Cindy until she kicks him out a window, employing moves from ''The Matrix''. However, the killer vanishes before the police arrive, to Cindy's dismay.

At the police station, Cindy and the sheriff discover that David Keegan, the man the teens killed the previous year was not the killer who came back for revenge but was actually Doofy who was faking his disability and has escaped with Gail Hailstorm after removing his disguise, similarly to the ending of '' The Usual Suspects''. The sheriff and Cindy find his discarded backpack with his Ghostface mask and knife in the street, and Cindy begins screaming but is run over by a car.

Cast

* Kurt Fuller as Sheriff Burke (from ''Scream'')
* Rick Ducommun as Neil Campbell (from ''Scream'')
* David L. Lander as Principal "Squiggy" Squiggman (from '' Laverne & Shirley'') parodying Principal Himbry ( Henry Winkler from ''Scream'')
* Andrea Nemeth as Heather
* Dan Joffre as Cameraman Kenny (from ''Scream'')
* Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tina (from ''Scream'')
* Keenen Ivory Wayans as Slave (from '' Amistad'')
* Jayne Trcka as Miss Mann
* Kelly Coffield Park as Teacher
* Tanja Reichert as Miss Congeniality
* James Van Der Beek as himself (uncredited)
* Anthony McKay as Not Drew's Boyfriend (from ''Scream'')

Production

The screenplay was developed by Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans with Buddy Johnson and Phil Beauman, writers for the sitcom '' The Wayans Bros''.
At the same time, Miramax was developing a spoof of '' Scream'' scripted by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Due to a WGA decision, all six writers were credited, despite Friedberg and Seltzer not actually working on the filmed script.

Anna Faris had graduated from the University of Washington and planned to travel to London, but decided instead to go to Los Angeles and after meeting with some managers; she then auditioned for the film and booked her first acting job. Keenen had rejected many other actresses, and was willing to take the chance on Faris despite her lack of experience because of her instinctual performance. He said: "She had this natural innocence and was funny.
Jenny McCarthy and Melissa Joan Hart auditioned for the part of Drew Decker, before Carmen Electra was cast.

The movie was filmed August 16, 1999 - October 18, 1999.

Parodies

Much of the humor of ''Scary Movie'' relies upon specific references to other contemporary films. Roger Ebert remarked in his review that "to get your money's worth, you need to be familiar with the various teenage horror franchises." The two films on which the script is most heavily based are '' Scream'' (1996) and '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) (both written by Kevin Williamson), using the general narrative arcs of both films, and featuring comedic recreations of key scenes. The backstory in which the teenagers are responsible for accidentally killing a man following a beauty pageant recalls the same plot point in ''I Know What You Did Last Summer''. Major references to ''Scream'' include the identity of Ghostface and the murder of Drew Decker in the opening scene, a reference to the opening scene of ''Scream'' in which the same thing occurs to the character of Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore. Additionally, the characters of ''Scream'' and ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' are mirrored in the film, and the title "Scary Movie" was originally the working title for the project that would eventually become ''Scream''. At one point the title of this film was going to be "Scream If You Still Know What I Did Last Halloween". Although the Ghostface mask and costume was a replica, the original costume in the ''Scream'' series was used when Cindy notices the killer outside of the school.

Many scenes and jokes parody or reference other films outside the horror film genre. The fight between Cindy and the killer heavily mimics ''The Matrix'', particularly its use of bullet time. The final scene, in which Doofy stops feigning his disability and drives away with Gail, is a takeoff of the final scene of '' The Usual Suspects''. When asked about her favorite horror movie, Drew answers "'' Kazaam''" due to Shaquille O'Neal's acting. Cindy becomes aggressive and roars "Say my name!" during sex with Bobby, similar to the sex scene between Michelle and Jim in '' American Pie''. The movie theater scene shows a screening of '' Shakespeare in Love'' and a trailer for a fictitious sequel to '' Amistad'' titled ''Amistad II'' with elements of '' Titanic'' also appears in the movie theater scene. When Gail and her cameraman are attacked by the killer, she partakes in a parody of the famous scene in '' The Blair Witch Project'' where Hailstorm records an apology to her friends' parents.

The film also makes other pop culture references beyond the scope of film, such as the parodied version of Sarah Michelle Gellar's character Helen Shivers in ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' being named Buffy, which is a reference to her character in '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Others include a brief references to ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Candid Camera'', '' Big Momma's House'', '' Candyman'', '' Friday the 13th'' and a parody of the '' Whassup?'' ad campaign by Budweiser.

The tagline for the movie's poster was "No Mercy. No Shame. No Sequel." When '' Scary Movie 2'' was released a year later, the tagline for the sequel was "We Lied."

; Films parodied
* '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997): Main parody
* '' Scream'' (1996): Main parody
** '' Scream 2'' (1997): Brenda's death parodies Maureen Evans' in the opening theater scene, and Cindy's chase scene references CiCi Cooper throwing a bicycle down the stairs, as well as the killer falling over a chair from Sidney Prescott's chase scene.
** '' Scream 3'' (2000): Post video of Shorty giving advice what to do in a sequel.
* '' The Sixth Sense'' (1999): Character of Shorty says "I see dead people".
* '' The Blair Witch Project'' (1999): Gail Hailstorm references famous "I'm so scared" scene.
* '' Halloween'' (1978): The scene in which Cindy spots the killer outside her classroom window is a direct parody to the scene from ''Halloween'', in which Laurie Strode first spots Michael Myers outside her classroom window.
* '' Friday the 13th'' (1980): Killer says "ch ch ch ah ah ah", a famous sound effect in the '' Friday the 13th franchise''.
* '' The Shining'' (1980): Killer says "Redrum".
* '' The Matrix'' (1999): Climax references several fight scenes.
* '' The Usual Suspects'' (1995): Ending parodies the twist ending.
* '' Psycho'' (1960): Bobby references the Norman Bates line when he says "we all go a little crazy sometimes", imitating Billy Loomis in ''Scream''.
* '' Candyman'' (1992): Ray tells Cindy that she "branded obbythe Candyman" after Bobby was released from jail.

Music

The soundtrack to ''Scary Movie'' was released on July 4, 2000, through TVT Records and consists of a blend of hip hop and rock music.

; Track listing
# "Too Cool for School"- 2:27 (Fountains of Wayne)
# "The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope"- 3:53 ( Bloodhound Gang)
# "Stay"- 3:56 ( Radford)
# "The Only Way to Be"- 3:20 ( Save Ferris)
# "My Bad"- 3:22 ( Oleander)
# "Punk Song #2"- 2:46 ( Silverchair)
# " Everybody Wants You"- 4:11 ( Unband)
# "Superfly"- 2:55 ( Bender)
# " I Wanna Be Sedated"- 2:31 ( The Ramones)
# " Scary Movies"- 3:56 (Bad Meets Evil)
# " All Bout U"- 4:34 ( 2Pac, Top Dogg, Yaki Kadafi, Hussein Fatal, Nate Dogg & Dru Down)
# "I Want Cha"- 4:37 ( Black Eyed Peas)
# "What What"- 5:03 (Public Enemy)
# "Feel Me"- 3:49 ( Rah Digga, Rampage & Rock)
# "I'm the Killer"- 3:57 (Lifelong & Incident)

Release

Home media

''Scary Movie'' was released on DVD and VHS on December 12, 2000 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Dimension Home Video banner).

Reception

Box office

''Scary Movie'' opened theatrically in the United States and Canada on July 7, 2000, on 1,912 screens, and debuted at number one at the US box office, grossing $42,346,669 during its opening weekend. It went on to break '' Air Force One''s record for having the biggest opening weekend for any R-rated film. The film ultimately grossed $157,019,771 in the United States and Canada, surpassing '' Good Will Hunting'' as Miramax's highest-grossing film in that market. It grossed $121,000,000 in other markets, for a worldwide gross of $278 million.

Critical response

''Scary Movie'' received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 117 reviews, with an average score of 5.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Critics say ''Scary Movie'' overloads on crudity and grossness to get its laughs." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 48 based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Joe Leydon of '' Variety'' said that the film was "unbounded by taste, inhibition or political correctness" and that "the outer limits of R-rated respectability are stretched, if not shredded". Leydon concluded the film is "practically guaranteed to make you laugh until you're ashamed of yourself". Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, saying it "delivers the goods", calling the film a "raucous, satirical attack on slasher movies." However, Ebert was critical of the film for not being as innovative as other films, saying it lacked "the shocking impact of ''Airplane!'', which had the advantage of breaking new ground."

Bob Longino of '' The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' felt that the film's crude humor detracted from the film, saying that ''Scary Movie'' "dives so deep into tasteless humor that it's a wonder it landed an R rating instead of an NC-17." Other reviewers, such as A.O. Scott of ''The New York Times'', argued that the jokes were "annoying less for their vulgarity than for their tiredness." Scott remarked "Couch-bound pot smokers, prison sex, mannish female gym teachers, those ''Whassssup'' Budweiser commercials—hasn't it all been done to death?"

Peter Howell of '' The Toronto Star'' wrote that the film "doesn't just push the gross-out envelope, it folds, spindles, mutilates and mails it to your mama." He adds, however, that "''Scary Movie'' has a nasty side to it that negates much of the humour. Many jokes are just plain sexist, racist, homophobic, violent . . . and not funny. A scene where a woman is knocked to the ground by an angry man who then proceeds to brutally kick her is sickening to watch. The film's frequent use of profanity also seems gratuitous, even by these standards, but that may be beside the point. By the time you realize the four-letter word count is running high, the plot itself has become repetitious and forced."

Sequel

A sequel titled ''Scary Movie 2'', was released in 2001.

See also

* List of films featuring fictional films
* List of films set around Halloween
* '' Student Bodies'' (1981) — A parody of horror movies
* ''Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th'' (2000) — A parody of horror movies inspired by ''Scary Movie''
* '' Stan Helsing'' (2009) — A parody of horror movies
* '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (1998) — A film which experienced similar issues with WGA crediting dispute.

References

External links

*
*
*

{{Portal bar, Film, United States, Speculative fiction/Horror, Comedy

Scary Movie (film series)
2000 films
2000 comedy horror films
2000s American films
2000s English-language films
2000s high school films
2000s parody films
2000s serial killer films
2000s slasher films
2000s teen comedy films
2000s teen horror films
African-American comedy horror films
American comedy horror films
American high school films
American parody films
American serial killer films
American slasher films
American teen comedy films
American teen horror films
Buena Vista International films
Dimension Films films
Films about beauty pageants
Films about siblicide
Films directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans
Films scored by David Kitay
Films set in a movie theatre
Films shot in Vancouver
Miramax films
Parodies of horror
Slasher comedy films
Stoner films
English-language comedy horror films
English-language crime films
Teen Choice Award winning films