Review #305: Scary Movie 2 (2001)
October 2024 Horror Origins Review #22- Scary Movie 2 (2001)
I said yesterday that Scary Movie is, by most metrics, a better movie than Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth. That's definitely true, but I think Scary Movie 2 is even better than the first. I think it does a great job of showing the strengths of the Scary Movie series over Shriek If You Know- yes there's a ton of pop culture references and easter eggs in both, but the Scary Movie series makes sure that even if you don't care about all of the topical jokes and references, there's still a consistent story throughout that you can appreciate regardless. While the previous Scary Movie was a mashup of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scary Movie 2 is almost exclusively cribbing from The Haunting (which I'll be reviewing tomorrow) with other movies relegated to just the smaller vignettes and one-off jokes.
Scary Movie 2 follows several of the characters from Scary Movie 1 (even though, spoilers, all of them died by the end of the previous film- the movie doesn't care so you shouldn't either) as they take part in a college research project studying the effects of insomnia, where they all will spend a weekend in an old country mansion and record their experiences. Little do they know this project isn't actually about insomnia, and instead is studying the existence of the supernatural- and the old country mansion is a haunted house. They get there, some ghosts show up, some people die, and a good time is had by all.
All of the actors do a fantastic job in their various roles (I will praise Anna Faris any day for always being game for all of the ridiculous things they make her do in these movies) and there is some hilarious physical comedy in here, and plenty of lines that I find myself quoting way more often than I should. (David Cross hanging from the balcony and yelling, "No, give me your OTHER hand!" while refusing Chris Elliot's aid due to his offputting deformity is not only hilarious, but you'd be shocked at how many times I've had a perfect opportunity to use that quote.) I also feel like the characters have a great sense of camaraderie, which really makes me think that everyone had a great time filming it. (Unfortunately that camaraderie does not seem to extend to the executive team- allegedly Tori Spelling's character was originally written to be one of the top three roles in the film, but a dispute with the producers led to her role getting slashed in the edit and her character getting killed off about halfway through.)
So the actors did a great job, there's a ton of jokes (but they come at a steady pace so you don't get overwhelmed), and the story is pretty good. But the part of this movie I love the most has got to be the setting. I'm a sucker for a big haunted mansion, I always love stories where characters are stuck in one location and have to work together to figure out what's going on, and I just really like the vibe that this college study into the paranormal gives the experience. I've watched a lot of movies this month and sure there's a lot of fun to be had at a summer camp or a Halloween party or even a desert, but I'll take a big spooky haunted mansion any time.
I feel a bit disappointed that I don't have much more to say about this one- it's a solid film, I think it's got some great gags, and I can't even think of anything to really complain about. Apart from the fact that it's aimed specifically at a very narrow point in pop culture and anybody born before or after that probably won't appreciate it, I really think this is a genuinely good film that most people can enjoy, and it's certainly the peak of the series.
Overall Rating: 8/10 Mismatched Skeletons
Nostalgic Rating: 10/10 Priests Vomiting Pea Soup
Father Not-Appearing-In-This-Film: Marlon Brando was paid $2 million to play the elder priest in the Exorcist spoof at the beginning of the movie, and even got most of his part recorded. However, he got sick during the toilet scene, and due to his poor general health was unable to finish filming, so they got James Woods to play his role instead. (Apparently, Brando was allowed to keep the $2 million.)
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