The parody film fatigue is already starting to set in with me it seems. After just a handful of them over the past week I already feel a bit exhausted with them and their very obnoxious nature. Mostly an outcome of watching some of the absolute worst of them rather than the few actually decent ones. My own fault, of course. Intentionally subjecting myself to the lowest of low humour and writing that is just insane to know that people were not just paid for it, but paid big. For some reason Disney+ is lacking the other titles, I assume likely a reason over licensing and ownership of the earlier entries. So this meant that I just dived straight into the terrible Scary Movie 4. I couldn't remember a thing from it, in fact I'm not sure if I ever actually did see it before. Part of me wishing that were still the case.
Scary Movie 4 is by far one of the worst. Lacking pretty much everything that could've made it interesting. Perhaps a result of there being less material to mock, with other parody films already picking them up and using them. Or most likely just the fact that hitting the fourth film, it was just already exhausted and should've been left to die. I don't seem to be the only one that believes this, given the main actress mentioned not wanting to make another, but just could not turn down an offer for one million dollars to return to the franchise and make this one. I do get the feeling that nobody had their soul in this, hearts were just not felt here. In the acting, in the stories, and in the attempts at comedy. It just all felt very shallow. Quite a difference from the prior entries which seemed to have a bit more life to them. Admittedly still not great themselves. I actually thought this was the final one, completely forgetting that six years later the fifth was made. Again, they definitely should've let it die after the third.
Scary Movie 4
Scary Movie 4 tried to carry from the adventure of the Tom Cruise blockbuster film War of the World's, which sees an alien invasion on Earth as alien tripod vehicles emerge from the ground, vaporising humans in their path. For the most part, it seems that much of the fatigue felt in Scary Movie 4 comes from a general shift in Hollywood itself, as the idea of a blockbuster began to shift, and successful hits just seemed far and few between. In the case of the older entries, the films they parody seem much more recognisable, more relatable and stupid which is why they fit into the idea of these mockeries that take their ideas so lightly. These genres are often varied, from family films to more serious hits. But what I noticed with Scary Movie 4 is that the films it parodied were actually rather mediocre and quite forgettable. Sure, there's a few here and there that had some sort of success in the theatres and DVD sales, but few varying recognisable names. This meant that the film just felt more serious and bleak, especially when the main idea is following the very bland War of the Worlds.
As mentioned before, the main actress that tends to headline these Scary Movie films stated she only returned for the paycheck. But this also means that she turned down the lead role, having more of a background and supporting role over the father figure that we see from the film it's parodying. Our lead is a new face, one that doesn't really have much charisma, and that's something highly important for these lighthearted comedies that thrive on stupidity. While his acting was not terrible, his character just wasn't there. It made the film feel like quite a slog to get through, especially when it came to the jokes which just seemed as lazy as possible. While these films do often take their chances to make stupid jokes, these ones aren't really funny at all. I don't think this one managed to get so much as a smirk from me, instead just having me constantly check the runtime to see how much closer it was to ending.
While I have felt the fatigue with these films, I don't think it was the fatigue that had me incapable of enjoying this film. More so the lazy feel to it that is found from the start. Even now, I feel it's a bit of a struggle to really remember any moments in it. Especially any that seemed funny. The two most memorable moments are how the film parodied Brokeback Mountain, and how the father struggles to think of a lullaby to sing to his daughter as she goes to sleep (this is a parody of a scene in War of the Worlds) but ends up singing some rap song in a lullaby tone. I think it's quite disappointing coming from Scary Movie 3, which seems to have been the height of the Scary Movie films and loved by many for its humour and many recognisable quotes and moments. Not just parodying films, but also having some funny dialogue in it too that allow it to stand out. This didn't seem to have that, and it even just tried to carry from those moments in Scary Movie 3, copying the formula of certain jokes or just essentially telling them all over again in hopes fans won't mind. While I have even seen Scary Movie 5, I don't think that one was quite as bad as 4 either.
I think much of the weakness in the film comes from a reliance on the very early new wave of horrors and thrillers that came about going into the late 2000s and early 2010s. Creating a story that just didn't have much colour and humour in it, especially when these horror films just don't really have many moments that could be parodied or turned into small sketches. Instead it ended up more like a series of light references. Because of this, the 80 minute or so runtime instead felt like a lifetime. Completely different in pacing to the other parody films. Pretty much everything seemed quite wrong in one way or another, and it's hard to think of any redeeming qualities it may have. I guess I could state that maybe the budget doesn't seem too terrible given the rather large amount of special effects this entry needed. Surprisingly decent given the genre of the film. I think I am done, though. I don't think I can take another parody film for a while, and fortunately will just return to some more serious creations that hopefully won't (increase) the brain rot.
Would I recommend it? Not really. I don't think you'd be missing out by not watching this entry and perhaps skipping or and maybe even 5 altogether. These films aren't made to wow you, but I will admit that the older entries do have some fun to them, making them some of the better parody films around to be seen.
