Here We Go Again Department: ‘Scary Movie’ (6) Review

June 4, 2026

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Do you like funny movies? Lolol (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)

Starring: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Olivia Rose Keegan, Cameron Scott Roberts, Savannah Lee Nassif, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Ruby Snowber, Benny Zielke, Sydney Park, Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Heidi Gardner, Damon Wayans Jr., Chris Elliott

Director: Michael Tiddes

Running Time: 96 Minutes

Rating: R for Frighteningly Raunchy Humor, Getting Blazed All the Time, and Absurd Slayings

Release Date: June 5, 2026 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: In a parody of Scream (2022) aka Scream 5 (while also incorporating plot elements of Scream 6, Scream 7, David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel trilogy, Ma, Sinners, the Wednesday Netflix show, Weapons, Get Out, The Substance, Smile, the Terrifier series, and Longlegs, among others), Scary Movie (2026) aka Scary Movie 6 lets loose its iconic ghostface-masked killer (or killers). They seem to have a bone to pick with our old friends Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and the Meeks siblings (Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall). But this time around, the main target is the new generation, particularly Cindy’s daughters Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan, uncannily impersonating a younger Faris) and Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif) and Brenda’s kids Brad (Gregg Wayans) and Dei (Sydney Park). Meanwhile, Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) is gallivanting around fabulously amidst all the shenanigans, while controversial media personality Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) fights to stay relevant. Yes, the whole gang’s back together and ready to have an unforgettable time, even if they already died and/or were previously revealed as one of the killers.

What Made an Impression?: Parody, Spoof Thyself?: I’ve seen most (if not all) of this Scary Movie‘s targets, so when I clocked the references, I wondered, “How will they make a joke out of this scene?”, only to then remember that the originals were often already pretty (intentionally) funny on their own. No surprise, really, as that’s always been this franchise’s m.o., with the o.g. Scary Movie ragging on the o.g. Scream, which had famously already satirized its own genre. So here we are again, with a rebooted SM coming out four years after a rebooted Scream and the same year as the third entry in that reboot cycle. There’s a tease about SM6 potentially going a little deeper with its deconstruction by introducing the idea of “Elevated Comedy”, but for the most part it settles for the most surface-level gags.
Milk, Fudge, and Lemonade: When the script (penned by Rick Alvarez and four Wayanses: Marlon, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, and Craig) stretches beyond the parody, it burns with the fervor of someone who has just discovered dick and poop jokes for the first time. Shock value doesn’t always equal humor, though occasionally those raunchy moments are bizarre enough to pass muster. Somewhat related: this movie is fairly open-minded when it comes to the full range of sexualities and gender expressions, as well as the potential for all of those categories to be ripped to shreds just as much as anyone else. Although, it’s perhaps a little too amused by the fact that queer identities exist.
Die Together, Kill Together: So Scary Movie (6) is decidedly hit-and-miss and deeply, deeply stupid. But I’m nevertheless very happy to see Anna Faris and Regina Hall reunited! The Wayans crew, meanwhile, aren’t quite the main attractions for me, but it’s nevertheless nice to see everyone on good enough terms to get back together for this silly shebang. And when this crew inevitably gets self-referential, it’s less groan-inducing and more “That’s right, you do you.” Boogie on, you clowns.

Scary Movie (6) is Recommended If You: Believe that the Comedy Hall of Fame should begin and end with the Wayans Family

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 References

This Is a Movie Review: Wish Upon

July 13, 2017

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CREDIT: Steve Wilkie / Broad Green Pictures

This review was originally posted on News Cult in July 2017.

Starring: Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, Elisabeth Röhm, Ki Hong Lee, Shannon Purser, Sydney Park, Kevin Hanchard, Sherilyn Finn

Director: John R. Leonetti

Running Time: 90 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Tableaux of Death

Release Date: July 14, 2017

“Be careful what you wish for,” yada yada yada, just state your message and move on – we’re here for the blood! Actually though, discerning horror viewers, like all film buffs, are really here for the imagination. Sure, plenty of us have reveled in excessive gore from time to time, but what we really want is a new innovation for toying with our deepest fears. Wish Upon’s premise offers little groundbreaking, but it is simple enough that there is plenty of room for surprising variation. For the majority of its running time, that potential is unrealized, but a breathless finale hints at what could have been and is nearly intense to salvage the whole endeavor.

Clare Shannon (the already-prolific-at-17 Joey King) is not too different from most teenagers, insofar as she wishes she were rich and popular, that the cute boy would fall in love with her, and that her dad (Ryan Phillippe) would stop being SOOO embarrassing. But unlike most teenagers, her dad dumpster dives for valuables, and she is the lead in a horror movie, thus she finds herself in position of an ancient Chinese music box. When she declares whatever she desires in the presence of the box, her wish automatically comes true – bing, bang, boom, no questions asked! Of course, there is a catch: each wish granted is paid for with the death of a loved one. All of Clare’s wishes are selfish, so there is a moral reckoning at play here. But when one of her friends asks her why she does not wish for, say, world peace, it begs the question: would such a noble request also be balanced out with a killing? There is no indication that the box would make any distinctions between wishes in terms of its price.

Wish Upon unfortunately never gets around to exploring these philosophical conundrums. Instead, it spins its wheels, as Clare refuses to accept the obviousness of what is going on. Skepticism about the supernatural is understandable, as horror movie characters usually do not realize that they are in a horror movie. But at a certain point, there is no logical or the film refusing to move forward, it settles into a routine of neo-Valley Girl high school slice of life interspersed with killing in the key of Final Destination-lite (i.e., simple Rube Goldberg, minor tension).

That is a shame, because there are plenty of disturbing, intense, or just plain unusual directions that this premise could go in. And in its last act, Wish Upon suddenly finds the right inspiration to meet that potential. The thing is, Clare is not just like any other teenager, as made clear in a ten-years-earlier prologue in which her mom (Elisabeth Röhm) commits suicide Magically transporting to some ideal life is tempting, and it may feel perfect at first, but there is bound to be some nagging feeling that will not go away about how wrong this impossible wish fulfillment is. You do not need a vengeful spirit to make that clear, but as horror metaphors go, it’s a handy one. Playing around with it for an hour and a half could be quite the unsettling trip; Wish Upon gives us just a taste.

Wish Upon is Recommended If You Like: Means Girls crossed with The Grudge, the Final Destination series

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Smegmas