After viewing and cringing through a whole sitting of Scary Movie 2 a few years ago I did have my reservations about a follow-up. But the trailer didn’t look too bad and with David Zucker, Leslie Nielsen and Charlie Sheen back in the world of spoof it all seemed a pretty good idea. And looking back it probably wasn’t that bad I guess.
As I mentioned previously Scary Movie 2 seemed a little rushed and obviously was trying to emulate the success (financially!) of the original. So I think the fact that my expectations of this movie were so way down in the gutter before I saw it, Scary Movie 3 turned out to be slightly and pleasantly surprising on occasions. It was over-the-top, madcap, and pure slapstick for the majority of the film but I can live with this. Like I said, I don’t expect much else from these kind of movies.
The sexy Anna Faris returns as Cindy Campbell this time researching a cursed video which seems responsible for the deaths of all those who watch it. But the plot of 2002’s ‘The Ring‘ is combined mainly with that of sci-fi thriller ‘Signs‘. The plot, if shakey at best, tries its hardest to combine as many plot points it can and the constant convergence of familiar scenes from the forementioned movies does become a little uneven at times.
My more major antagonisms would have to be the lameness of the aliens (but hey, I guess that adds to the spoofy vibe), the fact that some scenes shown on the trailer don’t actually show up in the film, and not enough screen time for Pamela and Jenny!
OVERALL SUMMARY
Slighty more improved than the original Scary Movie 3 stretches the realms of horror spoof into a wider range of genres. Decent mindless fun for a Sunday afternoon. A bit of a giggle on occassions and anyone who enjoys to see people being kicked in the nuts or thrown up into a ceiling fan should get a little more out of it. And with word on a possible 4th chapter in the pipeline being based more around super hero movies it does make you wonder how on Earth it should still carry the ‘Scary Movie’ title.
