Scary Movie
A foul-mouthed high-school parody turns masked-killer suspense and familiar slasher clichés into an aggressively irreverent comedy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Moderate
- irreverent
- raucous
- crude
- group comedy night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film commercially effective and frequently funny but overly dependent on crude, gross-out, and familiar jokes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story repeatedly parodies slasher movies and contemporary pop-culture properties while using their familiar plot machinery.
The film foregrounds crude jokes, sexual humor, drug jokes, and deliberately tasteless comic escalation.
Cindy and her friends are teenagers whose social lives and school environment frame the masked-killer scenario.
Cindy understands the patterns of horror films and attempts to survive a threat that resembles the movies she has seen.
Films like Scary Movie, and why
Airplane!
shares R-rated parody, rapid-fire pop-culture satire, crude humor, and spoofed horror conventions
Scream
shares teen slasher structure, masked-killer suspense, self-aware genre parody, and black comedy
Shaun of the Dead
shares horror spoofing, gross-out humor, supernatural threat, and irreverent ensemble comedy
Not Another Teen Movie
shares high-school satire, adolescent characters, crude humor, and broad sketch-like parody
Movie Details
- Director
- Keenen Ivory Wayans
- Release Date
- 2000-07-07
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (8162)
Cast
- Anna Faris
- Regina Hall
- Marlon Wayans
- Shawn Wayans
- Jon Abrahams
- Lochlyn Munro
- Shannon Elizabeth
- Dave Sheridan
- Cheri Oteri
- Tanja Reichert
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Scary Movie about?
- A foul-mouthed high-school parody turns masked-killer suspense and familiar slasher clichés into an aggressively irreverent comedy.
- What is Scary Movie like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Scary Movie as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Scary Movie violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Scary Movie as moderate.
- What did critics think of Scary Movie?
- Critics broadly found the film commercially effective and frequently funny but overly dependent on crude, gross-out, and familiar jokes.
- Which films are like Scary Movie?
- Films with a similar feel include Airplane!, Scream, Shaun of the Dead, and Not Another Teen Movie.
- How long is Scary Movie?
- Scary Movie runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch Scary Movie?
- In United States, Scary Movie streams on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel.
