''Scary Movie 4'' is a 2006 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

parody film A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that parodies other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by crit ...

. It is the sequel to ''

Scary Movie 3 ''Scary Movie 3'' is a 2003 American parody film which parodies the horror, sci-fi, and mystery genres. It is the sequel to '' Scary Movie 2'' and is the third film in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, and the first to be directed by David Zuck ...

'' and the fourth installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, as well as the first film in the franchise to be released under

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

banner since the purchase of Dimension Films from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. It was directed by

David Zucker David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized as the director and writer of the critically successful 1980 film ''Airplane!'' ...

, written by

Jim Abrahams James S. Abrahams (born May 10, 1944) is an American movie director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. Life and career Abrahams was born to a Jewish family in Shorewood, Wisconsin, the son of Louise M. (née Oge ...

Craig Mazin Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for creating the five-part HBO miniseries ''Chernobyl'', based on the nuclear disaster of the same name in 1986. His work earned him two Primetime Em ...

, and

Pat Proft Pat Proft is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid 1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the late 1960s. I ...

, and produced by Robert K. Weiss and

. The film marks the final franchise appearances of the main stars,

Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number ...

and

Regina Hall Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has since appeared in the television series '' Ally McBeal ...

(who portray Cindy and Brenda, respectively), and concludes the original story arc. This was initially intended to be the final film in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, until ''

Scary Movie 5 ''Scary Movie 5'' (stylized on-screen as ''Scary MoVie'') is a 2013 American comedy horror film. It is the standalone sequel to '' Scary Movie 4'' and the fifth and final installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series. It is the second film to ...

'' was released by The Weinstein Company on April 12, 2013, in a different storyline, with

Simon Rex Simon Rex Cutright (born July 20, 1974), is an American actor, rapper, comedian, and former model. Rising to fame as an MTV VJ, Rex later became an actor known for '' What I Like About You'', starring in three films of the ''Scary Movie'' f ...

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

, and

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

in different roles. It grossed $178 million dollars, becoming the third highest grossing film in the series.

Plot

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

and Dr. Phil wake up to find themselves chained to pipes in a bathroom. Their host,

Billy the Puppet Billy (commonly known as Jigsaw or combined name Billy Jigsaw) is a puppet that has appeared in the ''Saw'' franchise. It was used by John "Jigsaw" Kramer to communicate with his test subjects by delivering recorded messages, often appearin ...

, reveals that the room is slowly filling with nerve gas with the only way out being to make a basket and get the saws, which have to be used on their feet. Unfortunately, Dr. Phil saws the wrong foot and faints, leaving the two to die. Meanwhile,

Cindy Campbell Cindy Campbell is a character (arts), fictional character from the ''Scary Movie (film series), Scary Movie'' franchise. Portrayed by Anna Faris and created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron S ...

visits her brother-in-law, Tom Logan in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her husband George has died, and her nephew Cody has enrolled in military academy, leaving her heartbroken and lonely. Tom's attempted suicide results in his ingesting

viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...

, which greatly swells his penis and causes his death when he falls off the railing. Afterwards, Cindy takes a job to care for Mrs. Norris, who lives in a haunted house. Next door is Tom Ryan, who runs into George's friends Mahalik and CJ, learning about their homosexual one-night stand. He is greeted at home by the arrival of his estranged children, Robbie and Rachel. Over the following day, Cindy bonds with Tom, confiding to him about George's death in a fateful boxing match. The two realize their newfound love, but are interrupted by a gigantic

triPod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

which disables electricity and starts vaporizing the town residents. Cindy converses in mock

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

with the haunted house's ghost, Toshio, learning that the answer of the invasion is his father's heart. While Tom leaves the city with his children, Cindy reunites with her friend, Brenda Meeks, inexplicably alive after her death. Following Toshio's directions, the two head to the countryside and end up in a mysterious, isolated community. They are captured and put to trial headed by Henry Hale. The result allows them to live but never leave the village. Meanwhile, an emergency

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

meeting, headed by the eccentric

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Baxter Harris, who is reluctant to stop reading "My Pet Duck", goes awry when a weapon scavenged from the aliens renders everyone stark-naked. Tom and his children drive and find themselves in the middle of a war between the U.S. military and the aliens. Excited with the conflict, Robbie runs away, while Tom and Rachel are taken by the triPod. Back at the village, Henry is killed by the village loon, Ezekiel, revealing to Cindy that he fathered Toshio, who was killed during Cindy's boxing match. Cindy and Brenda are soon taken by the triPod and sent to the bathroom seen in the prologue, and they get stuck into the

Venus flytrap The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...

. Cindy manages to get through Billy's challenge, but is threatened with the safety of Tom and his children, who are put to traps. Looking at a toilet with the "heart" nearby, Cindy realizes that Billy, through Henry's wife, is the true biological father of Toshio. Seeing how far Tom would go to save his children, Billy, who realizes his mistakes, apologizes for the invasion and releases them. Robbie and Rachel are successfully returned to their mother, who is revealed to have married a much older man. Brenda also becomes romantically involved with Billy's brother, Zoltar. An epilogue set one month afterwards, narrated by

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

who is subsequently hit by a bus, reveals Brenda's giving birth to her child with Zoltar, Mahalik and CJ resuming their relationship, and President Harris being contented with his duck. Meanwhile, Tom appears in ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'' and wildly professes his love for Cindy by jumping around, throwing Cindy across the room, then breaking Oprah's wrists and hitting her with a chair afterwards.

Cast

as Brenda Meeks *

Craig Bierko Craig Philip Bierko (born August 18, 1964) is an American actor and singer. Early life Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York where his mother Pat ran The Harrison Players, a local community theatre. After graduating Blind Brook High School, ...

as Tom Ryan *

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

as President Baxter Harris *

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. He made his film debut in ''R ...

as Henry Hale *

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ' ...

as Mahalik Phifer *

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

as CJ Iz *

Beau Mirchoff William Beau Mirchoff (; born January 13, 1989) is a Canadian-American actor best known for his role in the MTV series ''Awkward'', his role as Jamie Hunter in '' Good Trouble'', and his role in ''Now Apocalypse'' on Starz. Early life Mirchoff ...

as Robbie Ryan *

Conchita Campbell Conchita Elizabeth Campbell (born October 25, 1995) is a Canadian actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Maia Rutledge on the USA Network series ''The 4400''. Biography Campbell was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is trained i ...

as Rachel Ryan *

as Marilyn *

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

as Oliver *

Chris Elliott Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He appeared in comedic sketches on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series '' Get a Life'' (1990–1992) ...

as Ezekiel *

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

as Holly *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

as Emma Norris * Garrett Masuda as

Toshio Saeki is a fictional character from the ''Ju-on'' franchise, created by Takashi Shimizu. He was played by several child actors, including Daiki Sawada in the short movie '' 4444444444'', Ryōta Koyama in the original two V-Cinema movies, Yuya Ozeki i ...

as Billy (voice) *

DeRay Davis Antoine DeRay Davis (born February 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.Todd Davis (February 2, 2008)Steph Jones: Heart & Soul ''HHNLive''. Accessed July 18, 2008. Life and career Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began ...

as Marvin * Henry Mah as Mr. Koji *

Patrice O'Neal Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O'Neal (December 7, 1969 – November 29, 2011) was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his stand-up comedy career and his regular guest appearances on the talk show ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' and the ...

as Rashed/CrackHead * Tomoko Sato as

Kayako Saeki is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise. History and characteristics Japanese timeline In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...

* Kathryn Dobbs as School Teacher *

Bryan Callen Bryan Callen (born January 26, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster. He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Callen initiated his career as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy serie ...

as Agent Harper *

as Zoltar (voice) * Angelique Naude as Waitress * Rorelee Tio as Yoko * Allison Warren as Polish Delegate * Edward Moss as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

* Champagne Powell as

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

Dave Attell David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's ''Insomniac with Dave Attell'', which earned him a cult following. His work has drawn admiration from many comedi ...

as Knifeman *

John Reardon John Henry Reardon (born July 30, 1975) is a Canadian actor and former university football player. Prior to 2015, Reardon starred as Blake Laviolette on the CBC Television series ''Arctic Air'' and had a recurring role as Greg Cameron on the S ...

as Jeremiah * Kimani Ray Smith as Cutman * Dale Wolfe as Hang Gliding Man

Cameo appearances

as himself * Dr. Phil as himself *

as George Logan *

as Tom Logan (uncredited) *

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson, also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American actress and comedian. She is known for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series '' Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's fir ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

as Narrator / Himself * Holly Madison,

Bridget Marquardt Bridget Marquardt (born September 25, 1974) is an American television personality and model, known for her role in the reality TV series ''The Girls Next Door'', which depicted her life as one of ''Playboy'' founder Hugh Hefner's girlfriends. A ...

and

Kendra Wilkinson Kendra Leigh Wilkinson (formerly Baskett; born June 12, 1985) is an American television personality and model. She is known for being one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends and for her role on the E! reality television series ''The Girls Next Door'', ...

as girls in Tom's bed *

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

as himself *

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

as himself/gunman *

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and the ...

as himself *

Crystal Lowe Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe (born Yan-Kay Lo; January 20, 1981) is a Canadian actress, director, and model best known for her scream queen roles in horror films such as '' Children of the Corn: Revelation'' (2001), '' Final Destination 3'' (2006), '' ...

as Chingy's girl *

Bubba Sparxxx Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American rapper from Georgia. His singles include "Deliverance", " Ugly" (both featuring Timbaland), and "Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins a ...

as hoodlum *

Bone Crusher A bone crusher is a device regularly used for crushing animal bones. Bones obtained during slaughter are cleaned, boiled in water and dried for several months. After that, they are suitable for crushing with the special machine into a relativel ...

as hoodlum *

Sean P YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

and

J-Bo YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

YoungBloodZ YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

* Michael McDonald as Tiffany Stone (female boxer)

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD on August 15, 2006 in rated (83 minutes) and unrated (89 minutes) editions with

deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...

s, bloopers, and

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

s. About 1,581,754 units were sold, bringing in $22,308,989 in revenue.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $40.2 million, the third best opening weekend of the ''Scary Movie'' franchise. It has the best Easter weekend opening weekend ever, beating ''

Panic Room ''Panic Room'' is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoaka ...

'' which made $30.1 million in its opening and also the second best April opening, only $2 million behind ''

Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

s record. As of October 18, 2006, the film has grossed a total of $90,710,620 at the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

box office and $178,262,620 worldwide.

Critical response

Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports that 34% of 126 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.60/10. The site's consensus states, "Sure to inspire a few chuckles, but not enough to compensate for the recycled material from its predecessors." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, film has an average of 40 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade "C+" on a scale of A+ to F.

Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' stated that while "''Scary Movie 4'' never takes you close to death by laughter ..it's funny enough to turn the hands on your watch much more quickly than you can believe." Nathan Lee of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

described the film as being "organized on the principle of parody, not plot, ..it's an exercise in lowbrow postmodernism, a movie-movie contraption more nuts than

Charlie Kaufman Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films '' Being John Malkovich'' (1999), '' Adaptation'' (2002), and '' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial ...

's gnarliest fever dream. It's cleverly stupid."

Accolades

The film won a

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Supporting Actress (

, also in ''

Date Movie ''Date Movie'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy parody film written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, directed by Seltzer, and produced by Paul Schiff and Friedberg. It was released on February 17, 2006 by 20th Century Fox and stars Alys ...

'').

References

External links

* * * {{Ju-on Scary Movie (film series) 2006 films 2006 comedy horror films 2006 science fiction films 2000s parody films 2000s science fiction comedy films 2000s science fiction horror films 2000s supernatural horror films American comedy horror films American science fiction comedy films American science fiction horror films American sequel films American supernatural horror films Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson Cultural depictions of Tom Cruise Dimension Films films 2000s English-language films Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films directed by David Zucker (director) Films scored by James L. Venable Films set in New Jersey Films shot in Vancouver Films with screenplays by Jim Abrahams Films with screenplays by Pat Proft Golden Raspberry Award winning films Miramax films Parodies of horror Supernatural comedy films The Weinstein Company films Films produced by Robert K. Weiss 2000s American films