It cannot be mistaken for a serious movie, as the working titles were "Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell On Friday the 13th" and "Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween". It is daring, rude and obnoxious in its relentless parody that only starts with the "Scream" franchise. The list includes "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and John Carpenter's breakthrough classic, "Halloween", but goes on, from "Matrix" and "Sixth Sense", all the way to "The Usual Suspects" at the very end. "Scary Movie" is written and directed by Keenan and Marlon, the less exposed Wayans brothers, and they don't bother making any sense of the plot, because, as one character says, the "Scream" series didn't make much sense either. Instead, they made a series of jokes and sketches, from the opening self-parody by Carmen Electra (that includes the reference to her affair with Prince, "Baywatch" flash-back and the violent extraction of her breast implant) to scenes in which the cloaked killer does more than just run with the knife (or a hook). In this impossible satirical amalgam, there are many ups and downs, and the movie is as uneven as you might imagine.

However, the movie spares nothing within reach with contagious honesty. As much as some characters are exaggerated caricatures, the others are truly hilarious, or at least get into truly funny situations. The scene in which Shannon Elizabeth is cornered by the killer may gross you out, but the look on the killer's – well, mask – as she's guiding him through the killing process is quite something. Of course, you'll get your share of crude sexual humor. When the main character Cindy (Faris) takes the relationship with her boyfriend from PG-13 rating to NC-17, the ensuing fireworks alone earns the R rating for "Scary Movie."