Reviews split for Scary Movie 6 as critics call it dull but acknowledge some jokes

The Scary Movie series is back for a sixth instalmentHorror is having a resurgence, with films like Obsession, Backrooms, Sinners and Weapons becoming some of the most talked about films of the last 12 months.It’s no surprise, then, that the Scary Movie franchise has been rebooted for a sixth outing, this time taking shots at the likes of The Substance, Get Out and the latest instalments in the Scream series.This time round, the comedy-horror follows Anna Faris’ Cindy, Marlon Wayans’ Shorty, Shawn Wayans’ Ray and Regina Hall’s Brenda as they’re targeted once again by a mysterious, masked killer.It’s been 13 years since the last Scary Movie was in cinemas and 25 years since the Wayans brothers last appeared in the franchise, so anticipation was high among fans for the new iteration.However, critics aren’t quite as hyped about the horror parody franchise’s return, calling it “exhausting”, “predictable” and “dull”.Here are what the reviews are saying about the sixth Scary Movie...The Hollywood Reporter“This ‘rebootiquel’, as one of the characters refers to it, needs fresh inspiration and not just a lazy retread of the same old meta contortions if it’s to have a life much beyond its opening weekend.”NME (2/5)“As ever, the film is really just an excuse to string together a bunch of cinematic in-jokes, meaning it lives or dies on the strength of its sketches. The result is a slow death that drags even at 96 minutes.”Anna Faris and Regina Hall return in Scary MovieVariety“The new film, which steps right up to mock itself for being a ‘rebootiquel’, is as thick and layered with legacy characters, and also new characters, as the most convoluted straining-for-a-demographic-home-run Scream sequel.“It’s jammed with spoof-genre history, but that makes it feel more exhausting than exhilarating. It’s a top-heavy satirical party that’s become so meta it’s meh.”Radio Times (2/5)“It’s hard to see a world where young folk not brought up on the originals, who probably weren’t born when Scream came out, would have any interest in this old-fashioned format which isn’t funny, certainly isn’t scary (not that it tries to be) and feels about as current as a Carry On film.“Instead it’s an unchallenging stinky old sweater of a movie, which might be deeply unfashionable and unappealing but reminds you of the days when you could smoke inside pubs and people used landlines.”The Guardian (2/5)“For all the expected (if not all that pointed) mockery of legacy sequels, there is a certain comfort and cheer in seeing this cast back together again in pursuit of dumb laughs, even if the earlier films weren’t especially good either.“Yet there are also increasing notes of sourness as Scary Movie goes on – a lack of generosity toward the younger generation that goes past playful ribbing and sometimes feels downright hostile to the very existence of anyone who dares follow them.”Empire (2/5)“Scary Movie tradition is to refer to job-lots of other films in scenes which only barely qualify as send-ups. It’s also series tradition to be just behind the curve, so nods to Terrifier, Sinners, Get Out, Weapons, Longlegs, M3GAN, Candyman, The Substance and Nosferatu will be old news to audiences who’ve moved on to Backrooms, Obsession, and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (the likely targets of a seventh instalment).”Metro (1/5)“While new elevated Gen Z horrors like Obsession and Backrooms are pulling record box office, Scary Movie is determined to dumb the genre back down again: stoned blokes exclaiming ‘I’m so high!’; dated pronoun gags; a lazy reliance on sex toys and penis size to provide punchlines.”Get Out is one of the modern horrors parodied in Scary MovieDeadline“It’s expected to make some big box office bucks this weekend, but sadly this reboot, simply called once again Scary Movie, is surprisingly devoid of many laughs. Instead we get a flat-footed and predictable satire that looks like the Wayans just threw whatever tired ideas they had at the wall to see what still sticks.”Time Out“Oh boy, is Scary Movie frantic. With no less than five screenwriters spitballing ideas at director Michael Tiddes, his film has absolutely no flow. It jars and bumps like a bucking bronco – sketch comedy at a hyperactive pace, tossing out clunkers and punchlines, just to see what sticks.”The New York Times“The irony here is how resolutely inoffensive Scary Movie actually is. What you think you’re going to get here is pretty much exactly what it is, only further eroded by its loose idea of a narrative arc. Even by parody movie standards, it falls prey to our age of meta humor, cramming in too many movie references where the reference itself is often the punchline.”The Wrap“Sucky or not, Scary Movie is still a broad comedy, and a lot can be forgiven if it’s funny. It’s frequently funny. Some of the jokes backfire, horribly, and others are so tired they’re pathetic, but one out of every four punchlines hits hard.“The celebrity cameo in the pre-credits sketch is inspired, and whenever Scary Movie falls back on old-fashioned slapstick, the comedic timing and Looney Tunes physics are hilarious as hell. The old cast knows how to make bad jokes work, or at least how to get away with them, and the new cast is extremely game.Den Of Geek“If you want to gaggle about gay panic jokes and celebrity cameos – including an admittedly great one in the cold open that I won’t spoil – then the new Scary Movie lives up to its legacy. But it also sinks beneath it too often to give it a free pass.”IndieWire (C+)“In some ways, Scary Movie 6 reads less like a parody of real horror culture and more like a vague representation of what some Hollywood executives think a modern scary movie is.”IGN“In general, Scary Movie 2026’s joke success rate is unfortunately on the low side, feeling like maybe 3 or 4 out of every 10 jokes hit the mark.“There are genuinely funny and clever gags here, to be sure, including surreal touches such as a moment involving a knife stabbing a poster and how the poster itself reacts. But there are also too many jokes that are whiffs or fall into the ‘hey, I remember when that happened in that other movie’ basket.”Scary Movie is in cinemas now.MORE FILM NEWS:How A Classic Simpsons Episode Inspired One Of 2026's Most Popular New HorrorsBackrooms Director Kane Parsons Admits He's Already Got Ideas For A SequelRobert Pattinson Says Gruelling The Odyssey Shoot Left Actors 'Broken'

Successful jokes are thin on the ground in the musty sixth installment of the once-popular parody franchise, taking aim at everything from Scream to SinnersThe Scary Movie series has always depended on timing. Not necessarily in its gagcraft, which has oscillated between occasional sharp jabs and many beyond-broad blows, but in its position on the release schedule. This was especially true of the first installment, which arrived in theaters just a few months after the 2000 release of Scream 3, capitalizing on the new wave of slashers while holding a spoofy Viking funeral for that just-concluded trilogy. A quarter of a century later, horror endures and there’s no reason to think spoofs can’t endure in parallel along with it as Backrooms and Obsession have ruled the early summer box office.The sixth Scary Movie, repeating the first movie’s unnumbered title as a simultaneous nod to and act of reboot branding, is releasing too soon after those surprise smashes to incorporate them into its litany of gags (not even some last-minute ADR references, guys?). It’s stuck far further back, doing a composite of the fifth and sixth Scream movies from 2022 and 2023, respectively. On the other hand, with the recent Scream 7 largely abdicating its self-referentiality entirely, Scary Movie arrives as the last horror-comedy holding the torch for in-jokes that its self-serious cousin couldn’t bother with. Continue reading...