Jody (Ashley Tisdale), a ballerina, and Dan (Simon Rex), a primatologist, adopt Dan’s three nieces and nephews who are found in a forest cabin. The children are haunted by a ghost named Mama.
Scary Movie 5: A Parody Reboot Gone Wrong
The first four installments of “Scary Movie” were released between 2000 and 2006, making this fifth film something of a reboot. However, the long hiatus doesn’t seem to have benefited the franchise. The humor hasn’t gotten any funnier, and there’s little evidence that the filmmakers even tried. The Wayans family left the project after “Scary Movie 2,” and Marlon Wayans even released “A Haunted House,” a competing parody of “Paranormal Activity.” David Zucker remains involved as a producer and co-writer (along with Pat Proft, known for the “Star Wars Holiday Special” and “Police Academy”), while Malcolm D. Lee (“Undercover Brother”) directs. Ashley Tisdale, the blonde from “High School Musical,” bravely takes over from Anna Faris.
A Disappointing Start
The film opens and closes with a strained scene featuring Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan making light of their own tabloid troubles. This sketch, which also inexplicably includes the famous theme from “The Benny Hill Show” (a bad omen!), is so dull that it makes you long for the good old days when they were both in funny comedies like “Hot Shots! Part Deux” or “Mean Girls.” Then, to everyone’s surprise (as “Paranormal Activity” was supposed to be the main target of the parody), we’re shown a remake of “Mama” with even more head trauma and burning babies.
Over-Reliance on References
The sad state of the movie parody genre is clearly demonstrated by the entrenched tradition of referencing a bunch of different movies instead of simply making fun of them. Rehashed scenes from “Black Swan,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (hordes of monkeys throwing poop), “Inception,” and (somewhat prematurely) “Fifty Shades of Grey” take up far too much space in “Scary Movie 5.”
A Lack of Original Humor
To top it all off, the end credits roll over a silly montage of bloopers, including numerous takes of a pop-up book gag that was so weak it was cut from the film entirely. One can only admire the filmmakers’ desire to keep up with the latest cinematic trends: they even included a reference to the “Evil Dead” remake.
However, they somehow forgot to include a single funny scene.