A very broad, very dumb, and occasionally very funny haunted-house parody. Its best jokes land through sheer commitment and the chemistry of Anna Faris, Regina Hall, and Marlon Wayans, but the movie is uneven, aggressively juvenile, and often more chaotic than clever.
Scary Movie 2
Where to watch: Paramount
Movie · Comedy · R
2001 · 1h 22m · ★ 0% (5.2K)
No more mercy. No more shame. No more sequels - honest! - We lied.
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans
Overview
While the original parodied slasher flicks like Scream, Keenen Ivory Wayans's sequel to Scary Movie takes comedic aim at haunted house movies. A group of students visit a mansion called "Hell House," and murderous high jinks ensue.
Director
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Production
Brad Grey Pictures, Gold/Miller Productions, Wayans Bros. Entertainment, Dimension Films
Cast
Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Christopher Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, David Cross, James Woods, Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, Chris Elliott, Andy Richter, Veronica Cartwright, Natasha Lyonne, Richard Moll, James DeBello, Beetlejuice, Vitamin C, Jennifer Curran, Antony Acker
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A very broad, very dumb, and occasionally very funny haunted-house parody. Its best jokes land through sheer commitment and the chemistry of Anna Faris, Regina Hall, and Marlon Wayans, but the movie is uneven, aggressively juvenile, and often more chaotic than clever.
Best for
fans of early-2000s gross-out comedy
viewers who like parody films with no shame
people who enjoy broad ensemble slapstick
audiences mainly here for Regina Hall and Anna Faris
Skip if
you want tightly written satire
you dislike crude sexual humor and body jokes
you prefer horror parodies with more wit than chaos
misogyny or relentless immaturity will ruin the experience for you
Overview
Scary Movie 2 is the kind of sequel that doubles down on everything the first movie did, for better and worse. It swaps slasher spoofing for haunted-house parody and mostly uses the setting as a launchpad for sketches, sight gags, and wildly juvenile punchlines. The result is messy, but it has a real comic rhythm when the cast is allowed to play off each other.
Worth noting
The movie’s biggest asset is the trio at its center, especially Regina Hall, who turns even the most ridiculous material into something sharp and memorable. Anna Faris also commits fully, and the film benefits whenever it leans into their reactions rather than just piling on shock gags. Some sequences are genuinely inspired in their stupidity, which is part of the appeal.
Bottom line
Still, this is a movie that often feels like it is testing your tolerance for crudeness. The humor is repetitive, the plotting is mostly an excuse for sketches, and not every bit ages gracefully. If you like parody that is loud, shameless, and occasionally inspired, it has enough energy to recommend; if you want consistency or finesse, it will probably wear you down.
Top Letterboxd reviews
nick (2.5★) · 4204 likes
“Cindy.. this is a skeleton! This is bones!” best line in cinema history
eleanor🌞 (5★) · 3232 likes
“HELP MY PUSSY’S GONE CRAYZEE” CINEMA
jarod (1.5★) · 2492 likes
this is so incredibly misogynistic but also eighteenth wave feminism when you think about it
ty (2★) · 2159 likes
The hand guy is quite literally the worst character of all time. Disgusting. A nightmare.
aaron (3★) · 2003 likes
i think we can all agree that brenda carried the franchise