Scary Movie 6 branded “painfully unfunny” and a “catastrophic misfire” in brutal reviews
Scary Movie 6 branded “painfully unfunny” in brutal reviewsParamount Pictures
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.
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.
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 19% from 21 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.”
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.
See Photos of the “Scary Movie” Cast, Then and Now
Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall as Shorty and Brenda in ‘Scary Movie’ (2000) and ‘Scary Movie 6’
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Stars never die in Scary Movie — literally.
Even though Regina Hall’s Brenda Meeks died in the first and third installments of Scary Movie, she returned for the following movies with no explanation — and she’ll reprise her role once again for No. 6, alongside Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris and more. After 13 years, the beloved horror parody franchise makes a comeback with the Wayans family at the helm for the first time since the second movie.
“We got the gloves off. We’re going R. We’re going to have the same fun and the same kind of tone and Wayans flavor that we gave on the first one,” Marlon told PEOPLE in March 2025.
For the film’s theatrical release on June 5, 2026, see the returning Scary Movie cast members from the first film to now.
01 of 10
Marlon Wayans as Shorty
Credit: Miramax/Dimension Films/Kobal/Shutterstock;Paramount Pictures
Marlon Wayans, who launched the iconic film series with his brothers Shawn and Keenen, returns to play Shorty Meeks. The comedian has branched out into more dramatic parts over the years, starring in the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic Respect and the 2025 supernatural horror Him. Still, he continues to tour his stand-up, and he also led his own sitcom, Marlon, from 2017 to 2018.
02 of 10
Shawn Wayans as Ray
Credit: Miramax/Dimension Films/Kobal/Shutterstock;Paramount Pictures.
Shawn Wayans reprises his roles as a writer and producer as well as his character Ray in the sixth installment. Since the 2000s, Shawn has taken a step back from the spotlight, but he recently announced he would start acting again — for the family business, reuniting with his brothers for Scary Movie 6 and White Chicks 2.
“I been home, enjoying my life,” Shawn told Atlanta’s V-103. “I love life, I love chilling, I love my family. Not to say that I’m not gonna go be funny, it’s just I don’t move at that pace.”
03 of 10
Regina Hall as Brenda
Credit: Miramax/Dimension Films/Kobal/Shutterstock;Paramount Pictures
Regina Hall’s Brenda Meeks is the pop culture gift that keeps on giving. Brenda, who has appeared in five of the six Scary Movie films, has a laundry list of quotable lines such as “Cindy, this is a skeleton! This is bones!” and “Cindy, the TV is leaking!”
“I get a lot of, ‘Out of my face,’ ” Hall told PEOPLE in 2025. “Even the dirty one with Ray. Kids quote that one. I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, not the children! This can’t be what I left the children with?!’ “
04 of 10
Anna Faris as Cindy
Credit: Miramax/Dimension Films/Kobal/Shutterstock;Paramount Pictures
Anna Faris ditched her trademark blonde to play Cindy in five of the six Scary Movie films. The role launched her career as a successful comedic actress, with a filmography that includes The House Bunny, Lost in Translation and Friends.
05 of 10
Cheri Oteri as Gail Hailstorm
Credit: Rowland/Miramax/Dimension/Kobal/Shutterstock;Paramount Pictures
Cheri Oteri parodied Scream‘s Gale Weathers as news reporter Gail Hailstorm in the first Scary Movie. The former Saturday Night Live cast member makes her return to the franchise for the sixth installment, 25 years later.
“When I was asked to do it, I was like, ‘I wonder what they’re going to have me do.’ And when I found out the substance, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes,’ because it was perfect for my character, Gail Hailstorm, dealing with all these new young reporters that are reporting from OnlyFans News wearing next to nothing,” Oteri told PEOPLE at the Scary Movie 6 premiere. “And I was like, ‘Gail has got to do something. She’s pissed.’ “
06 of 10
Dave Sheridan as Doofy Gilmore
Credit: Paramount Pictures
In Scary Movie 6, Dave Sheridan revives his most recognizable comedy role, Doofy Gilmore, who was the killer in the original film. He has since taken on small parts in other comedy projects, including parodies of The Walking Dead and 50 Shades of Grey.
07 of 10
Lochlyn Munro as Greg Phillippe
Credit: Miramax;Brianna Bryson/FilmMagic
Lochlyn Munro channels his dumb jock energy for another round as Greg Phillippe, a parody of I Know What You Did Last Summer‘s Barry Cox (played by Ryan Phillippe). A frequent collaborator of the Wayans family, Munro also appeared in five other movies with the brothers, including White Chicks and Dance Flick. Between 2017 and 2023, he played Hal Cooper, the father of Lili Reinhart’s Betty, in Riverdale.
“When I got the call to come back, it was a dream,” he told PEOPLE at the Scary Movie 6 premiere. “My very first day I saw Regina, and I hadn’t seen Regina physically for 25 years. … That was an emotional day for me because it just brought back so many memories and I just couldn’t believe that we were back doing this film again.”
08 of 10
Carmen Electra as Drew Decker
Credit: Dimension Films/courtesy Everett;Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Although she doesn’t play her original role as Drew Decker, who is killed in the first scene of Scary Movie (or as Holly in Scary Movie 4), Carmen Electra makes a cameo in the sixth film as a bartender.
“I know Keenen really wanted me in the movie, but no one else was sure I could do it. And so they had other people come in and shoot for it. He goes, ‘No.’ He fought for me,” Electra told PEOPLE at the Scary Movie 6 premiere. “So I love you, Keenen, forever, for pulling for me and changing my career, because being in Scary Movie really did.”
09 of 10
Chris Elliot as Hanson
Credit: Miramax;Paramount
Chris Elliott’s hilariously villainous Hanson and his malformed hand are back for Scary Movie 6. Elliott, previously an Emmy-winning writer for Late Night with David Letterman, has made a name for himself over the years as Roland Schitt in Eugene and Dan Levy’s Schitt’s Creek.
“As soon as I heard that the Wayans were doing it again, I was so excited, and I knew that Anna and Regina would be doing it too. And it was like coming home,” Elliott told PEOPLE on the red carpet of the Scary Movie 6 premiere.
He added, “These guys do comedy that like nobody else does, and it’s comedy that I’m partial to, and have done a bit myself. And I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of that kind of comedy lately.”
10 of 10
Jon Abrahams as Bobby Prinze
Credit: Dimension Films/courtesy Everett Collection ; Paul Archuleta/Getty
Jon Abrahams hasn’t changed a bit since playing Bobby Prinze, the boyfriend of Faris’s Cindy, in the 2000 classic. In addition to taking on roles in horrors like House of Wax and Terrifier 3, Abrahams made his directorial debut in 2016 with the drama All at Once. He also directed and starred in 2020’s Clover and the 2022 slasher Exploited.