Must everyone take life so seriously?

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2001)

Hi, I'm viewer Marchy, you may remember me from such movie reviews as...'Scary Movie.' And, once again, I find myself questioning what it is people expect a film such as this to do for them. If they're expecting chilling horror, they won't get it. If they're expecting a 'Memento'-style plot that twists like Chubby Checker, they'll be disappointed. However, what they will get is a SPOOF. A SPOOF. A MICKEY-TAKE. Yes, the plot is basic, if existent. It's part of the parody. Yes, the characters are one-dimensional and do stupid things. It's part of the parody. Yes, there's some pretty gross bits (well, actually, just one bit springs to mind, why the uproar?) but here's the tricky bit - these bits are for the benefit of people who actually find slapstick things funny, not only ironic or black humour. You saw the trailer, you saw the opening scene, if you didn't like the sight of a bodily-fluid-heavy Exorcist spoof which is the film's opening and main selling point, why persevere? I choose to see this as a film fan's film. Having seen all the lampooned flicks I found it fun to spot the references, some of which were pretty subtle - it added a whole new level to the humour; the play on the climactic scene from 'Hannibal' isn't going to mean much to those who haven't seen it, but it's still funny. And to those who have blasted the references to the wheelchair-bound and so on - lighten up and stop looking for reasons to dislike the film just because you're so much more mature than the rest of us. They did it in X-Men, Naked Gun and even Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where were you then?
Worse than 'Scary Movie' - slightly less clear references Better than 'Scary Movie' - KATHLEEN ROBERTSON
8/10