After over a decade's worth of rest, the Scary Movie franchise is back in cinemas with its sixth instalment on Friday (5 June). And if the first batch of reviews are anything to go by, critics will wish it stayed dormant for another few years.
The latest entry in the horror-parody series is simply titled Scary Movie, due in part to the return of the Wayans family. It's the first time they've been involved since 2001's Scary Movie 2, and this new film is considered to be a spiritual sequel to the first two instalments.
This time round, the action follows Cindy, Shorty, Ray and Brenda as another masked slasher targets them. Curiously for them, it appears to be the same figure who they encountered 26 years ago.
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Marlon and Shawn Wayans reprise their respective roles of Shorty and Ray, while Anna Faris and Regina Hall return as Cindy and Brenda. Michael Tiddes, who worked with Marlon in the Haunted House series, serves as director.
With the film coming 13 years after its predecessor, and a full 25 years after the Wayans' last appearances, anticipation was high amongst fans. Critics, however, may not have been as hopeful.
What to Read Next
That seems to have become apparent, with the horror-parody being blasted by critics. At the time of writing, Rotten Tomatoes is currently reporting a meagre approval rating of 28% from 60 reviews.
You can read a selection of reviews below:
Empire Magazine
"The posters – inspired parodies of recent horror films – are wittier than the film, suggesting that maybe next time get those ad creatives into the writers' room. Not your favourite Scary Movie."
Variety
"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."
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HeyUGuys
"[It's] a catastrophic misfire that manages to undermine everything that once made this film series successful. This isn't merely a bad comedy. It's a painfully unfunny, creatively bankrupt and genuinely exhausting experience that ranks among the very worst films of 2026."
The Hollywood Reporter
"This kind of broad, slapstick parody needs a steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments, but the new Scary Movie generates barely a trickle."
ScreenCrush
"Unlike some of their targets in prior movies, most of the objects of mockery this time around are pretty good films – many far better uses of a viewer's time than this new Scary Movie."
Scary Movie is released in cinemas on Friday.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
