Scary Movie (2000)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Writers (WGA):

Shawn Wayans (written by) &
Marlon Wayans (written by) ...

Release Date:

7 July 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A killer comedy.

Plot:

A year after disposing the body of a man they accidently killed, a group of dumb teenagers are stalked by a bumbling serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Masked Killer | Stupidity | Cult Favorite | Phone Terror

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Carmen Electra	...	Drew Decker
Dave Sheridan	...	The Killer / Doofy Gilmore
Frank B. Moore	...	Not Drew's Boyfriend
Giacomo Baessato	...	Trick or Treater #1
Kyle Graham	...	Trick or Treater #2
Leanne Santos	...	Trick or Treater #3
Mark McConchie	...	Drew's Dad
Karen Kruper	...	Drew's Mom
Anna Faris	...	Cindy Campbell
Jon Abrahams	...	Bobby Prinze
Rick Ducommun	...	Cindy's Dad
Regina Hall	...	Brenda Meeks
Marlon Wayans	...	Shorty Meeks
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Buffy Gilmore
Lloyd Berry	...	Homeless Man

Also Known As:

Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell on Friday the 13th (USA) (working title)
Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong crude sexual humor, language, drug use and violence.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (extended version) | Malaysia:U (heavily edited) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:18 | Colombia:12 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Mexico:B (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Steveston, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

As Ray is stabbing Bobby, Ray shouts, "Watching TV shows doesn't make people violent, canceling TV shows makes people violent! 'Wayans Brothers' was a good show!" This refers to "The Wayans Bros." (1995) in which Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans starred.

Goofs:

Continuity: Position of Grandma (whether she is standing or getting up from the floor) changes while the piano comes toward her.

Quotes:

The Killer: What's your favorite scary movie?
Drew Decker: Kazaam! You know, the one where Shaq plays a genie.
The Killer: That's not a horror movie.
Drew Decker: Yeah, well, you've never seen Shaq act.

Movie Connections:

References I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Want to Wait

amusing parody

Like most movie parodies, `Scary Movie' starts out well then begins to head downhill as it exhausts the possibilities of its limited material. Certainly, few genres are as rife for self-satire as the teen slasher films that have proliferated in theatres ever since the early 1980's. Seeing, however, as even some of the earliest `Friday the 13th' and `Halloween' films seem like ancient history to today's core movie going public, `Scary Movie' draws upon more contemporary examples of the genre like `Scream' and `I Know What You Did Last Summer' as its source of inspiration. In its opening stretches, `Scary Movie' has a great deal of fun parodying the many ludicrous conventions that have long defined these films: the use of 30-year old actors to portray empty-headed, nubile adolescents; the heavy emphasis on teen sexuality and partial nudity; the inane actions of the killer's victims who seem to do everything possible to hurl themselves into dangerous situations; and the oh-so-predictable false scare (usually caused by a leaping cat) followed immediately by the inevitable killer's attack.

Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and boasting a screenplay concocted by no fewer than six (count ‘em SIX) writers, `Scary Movie' establishes a high speed rhythm and pace that the filmmakers manage to sustain through most of the film's 88-minute running time – though there is a noticeable tendency on the part of the film to lag in the last half hour. Part of the problem could be that, as with most films made up essentially of sound and sight gags haphazardly strung together, it is inevitable that some of the bits will succeed better than others and that, as the movie rolls along, the inspiration will run a little dry and the humor will become less spontaneous and more forced. Indeed, this type of movie genre parody has always worked best when applied in small doses on TV series like `Saturday Night Live,' `In Living Color' and even the `Carol Burnett Show.' Stretched out to full length, such concepts often suffer the curse of diminishing returns.

Occasionally, the screenplay edges so close to the limits of good taste that one may question whether or not the material is truly appropriate for the age group at which the movie is obviously targeted. The crudity is actually much more comically effective when it is merely hinted at than when it is so openly spelled out and displayed. But then subtlety is not exactly a strong suit of the straight horror movie genre either.

`Scary Movie' is, at least, blessed with a winning, game cast made up of appropriately post adolescent actors who understand well the mannerisms and speech patterns of the stereotypes they embody. The overall good-natured quality of the film and its fairly high laugh ratio of gems to clunkers make `Scary Movie' an imperfect but generally likeable popcorn entertainment.