Stars: Anthony Anderson, Craig Bierko, Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Andre 3000, Michael Madsen

Director: David Zucker

Summary: No spoof is left unturned in director and parody-meister David Zucker's SCARY MOVIE 4, the latest instalment in the popular horror-cum-humour series.

No spoof is left unturned in director and parody-meister David Zucker's SCARY MOVIE 4, the latest instalment in the popular horror-cum-humour series. Among several returnees from previous films, Anna Faris reprises her role as Cindy Campbell, the eternally unlucky and hilariously clumsy heroine. In a send-up of 2004's THE GRUDGE, Campbell is assigned as full-time nurse to a mysterious old lady in a house haunted by the ghost of a small boy. In a takeoff of 2005's WAR OF THE WORLDS, next door lives Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko), a divorced dock worker somewhat in charge of his two kids, who is called into action as Alien TriPods (remove the Tr for a hint at the inspiration for their invention) seek to destroy Earth. The two meet and quickly fall in love. Joined by Cindy's ever-present sidekick, the flirtatious Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), the protagonists must save the planet from aliens and solve the mystery of the ghostly boy. One of the stops along the way includes a sharp lampooning of THE VILLAGE, complete with appearances from SCARY MOVIE veterans Carmen Electra and Chris Elliot, and other cinematic spoofs, including BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, and SAW. The satirical wit extends beyond the movies, containing personal jabs both self-inflicted (Charlie Sheen, Shaquille O'Neal, and Dr. Phil) and not (Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson, and George W. Bush). Ultimately, there is more than enough funniness to sate the SCARY MOVIE or slapstick comedy fan's appetite.

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The fourth instalment of the spoof horror franchise follows pretty much the template that the second and third films in the series adopted. So there's a smattering of funny jokes to stick in the trailer, recreations of big scenes from other popular movies, and Anna Faris boldly trying to hold the whole enterprise together.

Scary Movie 4is thus a spectacularly easy movie to assess. Forget the inspired and downright hilarious original, and instead look to its sequels. Did you find them laugh-fests? Did you think they were entertaining? And did you actually likethem? If so, Scary Movie 4isn't going to disappoint either.

But it will let down pretty much everyone else. It's not that its terrible. It's a passable way to spend a brain-dead hour and a half. It's just such a waste. There are some great gags to be made at the expense of Saw, War Of The Worlds, Brokeback Mountainand Million Dollar Baby(the film's main targets), but Scary Movie 4just doesn't make them. Instead, it too often relies on a stilted pratfall, someone smacking their head, or some other bumbling sequence that doesn't work as well as it should. Granted, there are laughs, but nowhere near the number that the original film delivered.

Which, as mentioned earlier, makes this an easy film to judge. There's a strong chance you already know whether Scary Movie 4is your bag or not, and thus the only recommendation here is to go with your gut feeling. You're unlikely to go wrong.

The DVD:A superb two disc set, with the extra features really compensating for some of the fallibilities of the main feature. There's bountiful behind the scenes material, amusing sequences that didn't make the final cut, and obligatory bloopers too. --Simon Brew

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature Commentary, Deleted And Extended Scenes, Optional Commentary, Bloopers, The Man Behind The Laugh, Zany Spoof Humour Zucker Style, An Interviewers Worst Nightmare, Visual Effects Of Scary Movie 4, The Youngbloodz, Rappers Actors, NBA Scary Movie 4 Spot, Theat
Year:	2006
Release Date:	August 14, 2006
Runtime:	83 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B U A 0022401
Keywords:	Comedy, Movie, General, Scary, Horror, Occult, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Horror/Occult