48 Fun Facts About Spooky Movie

Who directed the first film in the "Scary Movie" franchise?

Keenen Ivory Wayans directed the first two films from scripts co-written by two of his brothers; the studio then carried on without the family, who came back only for the 2026 revival.

The first Scary Movie's plot mainly spoofs which two films?

Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer supply the plot, and even the name is borrowed: Scary Movie was the title Kevin Williamson first gave his Scream script.

Who plays Cindy Campbell in the first four Scary Movie films?

Anna Faris played Cindy Campbell in the first four Scary Movie films; the role launched the comedy career that led to The House Bunny and the sitcom Mom.

Which character does the final twist of the first Scary Movie reveal as the real killer?

Doofy Gilmore, the seemingly dim-witted special officer, was faking it all along: he drops the act and drives off with the TV reporter, a takeoff of the ending of The Usual Suspects.

The first Scary Movie's poster promised no mercy, no shame and no what?

No sequel, the poster promised in 2000; when Scary Movie 2 arrived only a year later, its own tagline owned up in two words: 'We lied.'

The chain of stoned friends yelling 'Whassup?' down the phone in the first Scary Movie spoofs an ad campaign for which beer?

Budweiser's Whassup? ads were brand new and hugely popular while the film was being made, so the Wayans team wrote a phone chain of their own into the script.

In 'Scary Movie 2', what is the name of the haunted mansion the characters are tricked into visiting?

Hell House is where the students think they have signed up for a sleep study; the professor's real aim is to use them to investigate the mansion's ghost.

Scary Movie 2's plot, a fake sleep study in a mansion, spoofs which film?

The Haunting (1999) has the same set-up: Liam Neeson's scientist passes off an experiment in fear as an insomnia study, and the spoof even keeps a character called Theo.

Who played Brenda Meeks, known for her dramatic reactions, in the Scary Movie franchise?

Regina Hall plays Brenda Meeks, Cindy's loud best friend, who is killed in both the first and third films and simply turns up alive again in the next one.

In "Scary Movie 2," what distinctive physical feature does Hanson, the mansion's creepy caretaker, have?

A malformed hand is the trademark of Chris Elliott's Hanson, and his repulsive way of handling the dinner puts the whole table off eating.

Which actor joined Scary Movie 3 as the clueless President Baxter Harris?

Leslie Nielsen plays President Harris and recycles a line from his Airplane! days, solemnly telling the heroes: 'Good luck, we're all counting on you.'

Which director took over the "Scary Movie" franchise starting with the third film?

David Zucker, one of the trio behind Airplane!, directed the third and fourth films, then co-wrote and produced the fifth without directing it.

Which M. Night Shyamalan film is a main parody target of Scary Movie 3?

Signs supplies the farm plot: brothers Tom and George find a crop circle that spells out 'Attack Here', with an arrow pointing at their own house.

Which New York rapper does George face at the rap battle in Scary Movie 3?

Fat Joe plays himself at the rap battle, and it is George, fresh off his brother's farm, who comes out on top.

In Scary Movie 4, Cindy's caretaker job in a house haunted by a ghostly boy spoofs which film?

The Grudge is the target: Cindy tends an old woman in a house haunted by a pale ghost boy, whom she solemnly questions in mock Japanese.

Which two celebrities wake up chained in a bathroom in the opening of 'Scary Movie 4'?

Shaquille O'Neal and Dr. Phil wake up in a spoof of Saw: Shaq has to sink a basket to reach the saws, and Dr. Phil then cuts off the wrong foot.

The alien invasion plot of Scary Movie 4 parodies which science-fiction film?

War of the Worlds is the target: like Tom Cruise's character, dock worker Tom Ryan is a neglectful dad who wins his kids over while fleeing giant three-legged 'triPods'.

Which film featuring a secluded community with a shocking secret is parodied in "Scary Movie 4"?

The Village is spoofed when Cindy and Brenda stumble on an Amish-style settlement, are seized as trespassers and told they may live but never leave.

Which 'High School Musical' alum plays adoptive mother Jody Sanders in 'Scary Movie 5'?

Ashley Tisdale plays Jody Sanders in Scary Movie 5, taking over as the series' lead from the actress who had headlined all four earlier films.

Which found-footage franchise is the central target of Scary Movie 5's satire?

Paranormal Activity is the spine of Scary Movie 5: the Sanders house is rigged with security cameras that film each night's disturbances, down to the couple's absurd tossing and turning.

Which celebrity duo appears in the sex-tape opening scene of Scary Movie 5?

Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan set out to film a sex tape, but a demon possesses Lohan and she kills Sheen, leaving his children to be found in the woods months later.

Who directed Scary Movie 5?

Malcolm D. Lee directed Scary Movie 5 and later disowned it, calling it 'just a bad movie' and telling people not to bother seeing or renting it.

Jody's ballet audition in Scary Movie 5 parodies which film?

Black Swan is the target: Jody auditions for Swan Lake, but it is her friend Kendra who ends up dancing the Swan Queen, in the style of a stripper.

Which Wayans brother plays stoner Shorty in the first two Scary Movie films?

Marlon Wayans plays Shorty Meeks, Brenda's stoner brother; in the second film a giant weed plant turns the tables, rolling him up and smoking him like a joint.

The first Scary Movie's final fight copies which sci-fi film?

The Matrix is the model: Cindy fights the killer in mock bullet time and kicks him clean through a window, and he is gone before the police arrive.

Which character is the pushy TV news reporter in the first Scary Movie?

Cheri Oteri's Gail Hailstorm is the pushy TV reporter chasing the killings in the first Scary Movie; the film ends with the unmasked killer driving off with her.

Which TV talent-show judge has a cameo in Scary Movie 3, passing verdict on a rap battle?

Simon Cowell plays himself in a send-up of American Idol, listening to the rappers and then telling them they were 'absolutely dreadful'.

Which film did Drew Decker call her favorite horror movie in the first 'Scary Movie'?

Kazaam is Drew Decker's answer when the killer asks for her favorite scary movie: the genie comedy's basketball-star lead, she explains, acted that frighteningly.

Which actor plays Professor Oldman, who lures the students to the haunted mansion in Scary Movie 2?

Tim Curry plays the lecherous professor in a film that also spoofs his own Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the lurer ends up lured: a ghost tempts him to his death under the house.

Scary Movie 2 opens with James Woods as a priest making a house call, parodying which horror classic?

The Exorcist gets the treatment: Fathers McFeely and Harris fail to drive the spirit out of young Megan, and McFeely settles matters by pulling a gun and shooting her.

Which comedian plays Dwight Hartman, the professor's wheelchair-using assistant, in Scary Movie 2?

David Cross plays Dwight Hartman, who turns ghostbuster once the ghost gets violent, handing the students special goggles and ray guns to fight back.

In Scary Movie 3, George Logan's bid to become a rapper parodies which film?

8 Mile (2002) is the target: George wins over the rap-battle crowd, then gets thrown out when the white hood he pulls up makes him look like a Klansman.

Which character in Scary Movie 3 has visions of the future?

Cody Campbell, Cindy's young nephew, is a pint-sized psychic in the Minority Report mould who tells perfect strangers what the future holds for them.

Tabitha, the ghost girl who kills Brenda in Scary Movie 3, parodies the villain of which horror film?

The Ring's Samara is the model: Tabitha climbs out of a TV playing a cursed videotape, and in the end it takes visiting aliens to come and stop her.

Which children's book does President Harris refuse to stop reading in Scary Movie 4?

My Pet Duck keeps the President in a classroom after he is told of the alien attack, echoing George W. Bush, who read on from 'The Pet Goat' on the morning of September 11, 2001.

Which romance film is parodied in Scary Movie 4 by the characters Mahalik and C.J.?

Brokeback Mountain is spoofed in a flashback to a cowboy camping trip, where Mahalik and C.J. sing to each other and end up sharing a tent.

Cindy's boxing match in Scary Movie 4 spoofs which boxing drama?

Million Dollar Baby is the target, with the roles reversed: in the flashback Cindy is the boxer and husband George her trainer, and this time it is the trainer who breaks his neck.

Which famously deep-voiced actor narrates the epilogue of Scary Movie 4 before being hit by a bus?

James Earl Jones narrates the epilogue in his famous bass and is promptly flattened by a bus; the same coda has Tom wreck Oprah's show, leaping about as he declares his love.

The three feral children adopted by Dan and Jody Sanders in 'Scary Movie 5' parody which horror film?

Mama had reached cinemas only three months earlier, yet it supplies Scary Movie 5's whole climax: a clifftop fight with the children's ghostly mother.

Which film does Scary Movie 5 spoof when a research lab's test subjects break loose?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the target: Dan works at a primate lab, where Caesar, the chimp he is trying to make smarter, has quietly become far brighter than he is.

Which actor played George Logan in Scary Movie 3 and 4, then returned as Dan Sanders in Scary Movie 5?

Simon Rex, a former MTV VJ, played George Logan twice and came back as a different man, Dan Sanders; years later the spoof regular took the lead in Sean Baker's drama Red Rocket.

Scary Movie 5's scenes in a remote cabin spoof which horror remake?

Evil Dead (2013) had been in cinemas for only a week, yet its cabin and its demon-raising book, here the 'Book of the Evil', still made it into the spoof.

Which Godfather star was first cast as Father McFeely in Scary Movie 2?

Marlon Brando pulled out because of ill health, so James Woods stepped in, later saying he was paid $1 million for four days of work with live flies in his face.

Which "Scary Movie" entry was the first rated PG-13 rather than R?

The third (2003) entry was the first rated PG-13, after two R-rated films, and the series kept to that until the R rating came back with the 2026 revival.

Which 'Dawson's Creek' star cameos as their own TV character in the first Scary Movie?

James Van Der Beek turns up uncredited as Dawson Leery; fittingly, Dawson's Creek was created by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote both slashers the film is built on.

In the first Scary Movie, a stoned Shorty borrows the most famous line of which 1999 thriller?

The Sixth Sense supplies it: Shorty gets high and announces 'I see dead people', Haley Joel Osment's famous whisper.

A possessed Cindy trying to seduce the professor in Scary Movie 2 spoofs which Michelle Pfeiffer film?

What Lies Beneath, Robert Zemeckis's 2000 chiller with Harrison Ford, has a possessed wife come on to her husband; Cindy, in a red dress, snaps out of it moments later.

What is the name of the ghost who haunts the mansion in Scary Movie 2?

Hugh Kane, the mansion's cruel former owner, possesses first young Megan and later the caretaker Hanson, until Cindy lures his ghost onto a machine that destroys it.