The Scary Movie franchise returns with its original cast intact, and that nostalgic pull is real. Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans slip back into their roles with a chemistry that reminds you why these characters mattered in the first place. For longtime fans, seeing them together again is genuinely worth the price of admission.
But nostalgia only carries a film so far in 2026. The crude humor that once defined Scary Movie, the poop jokes and shock-value moments, no longer lands with the same force. Simply being offensive stopped being a complete comedy strategy years ago. Once you get past the initial thrill of seeing familiar faces, you start wondering what else is in the tank.
Where the movie finds its footing is in parody. The franchise's bread and butter, riffing on other films and pop culture moments, works best here. Cracks at Sinners, White Chicks, and KPop Demon Hunters drew the biggest laughs from the theater. These are the moments where the filmmakers prove they're actually in on the joke, that they understand the formula they're executing.
The film also takes a swing at Hollywood's obsession with legacy sequels by introducing the next generation of characters. But here's where it gets interesting: the movie kills them off and makes that fact itself the punchline. It's self-aware enough to undercut the very trend it's participating in, which is clever if you're paying attention.
Less effective is the relentless ribbing of Gen Z culture. Jokes about pronouns and generational complaints start to feel dad-coded fast. The film's handling of its trans character Jess, played by Benny Zielk, demonstrates this tension. Jess is written as confident and self-assured, not a complete caricature. Yet the character's transition becomes the setup for a significant portion of their storyline. The audience doesn't need that crutch to accept the character; the movie could have trusted viewers to move past the identity angle and just enjoy Jess as a person. Notably, Jess is also among the first to die in the film.
The Wayans brothers are the engine that keeps this machine running. There's something in their comedic DNA that just works, effortlessly funny in a way that's hard to replicate. If the franchise continues, they need to remain central to it.
The bigger question hovering over Scary Movie 6 is why Hollywood keeps betting on sequels and reboots at all. The answer is probably simple: nostalgia works. Audiences show up because these films remind them of simpler times, moments when a crude joke and a familiar face were enough. Hollywood keeps reheating its nachos because it knows people will eat them.
There's a fine line between honoring what worked and finding room for something new. Scary Movie 6 walks that line unevenly, landing jokes when it sticks to what it knows and faltering when it tries to comment on contemporary culture without really understanding it. Sometimes a movie just exists to give you a few laughs and a trip down memory lane. Not everything needs to be Oscar material. But if we're going to keep returning to these franchises, the comedy needs to mature alongside us.
Author Jessica Williams: "The Wayans carry this entire thing, and when the parody jokes land they're sharp, but the rest feels stuck between wanting to mock Gen Z and just needing easy targets."
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