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Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 2 is a 2001 American supernatural parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to Scary Movie and the second film in the Scary Movie film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans (all reprising their roles from the first film, despite their characters having been killed), as well as Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, Chris Elliott, Chris Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, David Cross and James Woods. The film was the last in the series to feature the involvement of stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and director Keenan until the upcoming sixth installment. Marlon would eventually go on to produce a similar horror-themed parody, A Haunted House, and its sequel, both starring himself. In the latter film, Wayans pokes fun at the Scary Movie series' decline in quality after his family's departure.

Scary Movie 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKeenen Ivory Wayans
Written by
Based onCharacters
Produced byEric L. Gold
Starring
CinematographySteven Bernstein
Edited by
Production
companies
  • Gold/Miller Productions[1]
  • Wayans Bros. Entertainment[1]
  • Brad Grey Pictures[1]
Distributed byDimension Films[1]
Release date
  • July 4, 2001 (2001-07-04)
Running time
82 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million[3]
Box office$141.2 million[3]

Where the original film was mainly based on the slasher films of the 1990s, Scary Movie 2 parodies an array of supernatural and haunted house films from various decades, namely The Haunting (1999), Stigmata (1999), The Exorcist (1973), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The Amityville Horror (1979), Poltergeist (1982), The Legend of Hell House (1973), House on Haunted Hill (both the 1959 and 1999 versions), The Changeling (1980), What Lies Beneath (2000) and Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) while also making many references to the slasher flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). It also spoofs the comedy film Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and some contemporary films, such as Hannibal (2001), Hollow Man (2000) and Charlie's Angels (2000).

Scary Movie 2 was commercially successful, grossing $141.2 million worldwide from a $45 million budget, but received largely negative reviews from critics. A sequel was released in 2003.

Plot

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At the haunted mansion Hell House, teenager Megan Voorhees becomes possessed by the spirit of Hugh Kane, the house's cruel, wicked previous owner. She interrupts a formal dinner party, thrown by her mother, who seeks help from two priests, Fathers McFeely and Harris. After an unsuccessful attempt to exorcise Kane's ghost, McFeely pulls a gun and shoots Megan.

One year later, Cindy Campbell, Brenda Meeks, Ray Wilkins and Shorty Meeks are at college, trying to live new lives after surviving the events of the first film. Cindy and Brenda are tagged by socially maladjusted Alex. Shorty is still the same stoner he was before. Ray, still confused about his sexuality, has two new male friends, Tommy and Buddy, the latter of whom becomes romantically interested in Cindy. She rebuffs him but agrees to be friends.

The sinister Professor Oldman and his charming paraplegic assistant, Dwight Hartman, plan to study the paranormal activity at Hell House. They recruit Cindy and her friends as test subjects under the pretense of a psychological experiment on sleep paralysis. On her drive to the mansion, Cindy listens and sings badly along to "Graduation" by Vitamin C whom through the radio tells her to shut up. At the mansion, Cindy encounters a foul-mouthed parrot and Hanson, a creepy caretaker with a badly malformed hand. Later, the attractive Theo joins the group. They sit down for dinner but soon lose their appetite due to Hanson's repulsive handling of the food.

That night, Cindy hears voices directing her to a secret room, where she and Buddy discover Kane's wife's diary. Seeing her portrait, they note Cindy's (slight) resemblance. Meanwhile, the others also experience bizarre encounters. Kane's ghost has sex with Alex in her bedroom and quickly departs at the mention of commitment. Cindy gets into a fistfight with the house cat, Mr. Kittles. When Cindy tries to tell Oldman, he dismisses it and sends Theo to take Cindy to bed.

Later, Cindy is possessed by Kane's wife, and she seduces Oldman. She quickly returns to normal, with no memory of the event. A toy clown attempts to kill Ray, but in a strange turn of events, the doll is molested by him instead. A weed-monster rolls Shorty into a joint. It proceeds to smoke him (to his enjoyment), but gets distracted and lets him escape.

The next morning, Oldman tells Dwight that no one is leaving the house despite the attacks and shows his lecherous nature. Dwight is given the only house keys and told to give them to nobody. Theo offers oral sex to no avail; Dwight does it to himself. She knocks him out and takes the keys.

Oldman is seduced and killed by the ghost of Kane's mistress, Victoria Crane. Shorty later encounters the same ghost but charms and has sex with her. After Dwight equips the teens with weapons that can injure their spectral enemy, they are pursued throughout the mansion, Alex attempts to win Kane's love, but is killed by Crane's ghost. Buddy and Cindy are locked in the walk-in freezer. Cindy uses a collection of random objects to produce a Caterpillar 2-Ton tractor and escapes the freezer. Hanson becomes possessed by Kane and kidnaps an inebriated Shorty. Cindy, Brenda, and Theo team up to battle him with highly stylized fight choreography but are defeated. Dwight regroups with the teens, and Cindy volunteers to act as bait to lure Kane into a device that will destroy him. The plan succeeds, freeing the group from the house's curse.

Two months later, Cindy and Buddy are in a relationship. They are out on a walk when Hanson appears to take her away with him. Buddy disappears as Hanson gets hit by a car, driven by Shorty.

Cast

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Parodies

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Production

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The film is a sequel to Scary Movie. According to director Keenen Ivory Wayans, the filmmakers watched over 130 horror films for background research.[4] Marlon Brando was originally cast as Father McFeely and completed one day of filming before he had to leave the production due to illness.[5][6] He was replaced by James Woods who was paid $1 million for four days work.[7] Charlton Heston had also turned down the Woods role. At one point, former President Bill Clinton, who had just left office the year the film came out, was also considered.

Because Miramax had not greenlit this sequel until the massive box office success of the first, the film faced a punishing production schedule that involved coming up with a script and tearing through production and post-production in a total of less than nine months, roughly half the average time for all those steps to be completed on a standard Hollywood production in 2000–2001. It was this rushed production that made the Wayans never want to make another Scary Movie, and they were not involved in any of the sequels.

Music

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Unlike its predecessor, the film does not have an official soundtrack. It features a heavily hip hop and rap catalogue, with some rock and techno songs.

Release

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Home media

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The film was released on VHS and DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the Dimension Home Video banner on December 18, 2001,[8][9] with an array of special features, including commentaries and various deleted scenes.

Following the sale of Miramax to Farmyard Holdings, Lionsgate Home Entertainment later reissued the DVD, and released the film on Blu-ray on September 20, 2011.[10]

Reception

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Box office

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Scary Movie 2 opened on the Fourth of July weekend and ranked second at the US box office behind Cats & Dogs, with $20.5 million.[11] In North America, the film grossed $71.3 million. With $69.9 million internationally, the worldwide gross comes to $141.2 million. Out of the first four Scary Movie films, this was the least successful to date, until the fifth film in 2013.[3][12]

Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, Scary Movie 2 has an approval rating of 14% based on 112 reviews and an average rating of 3.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Instead of being funny, this gross-out sequel plays like a sloppy, rushed-out product."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Scary Movie 2". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Scary Movie 2 (18)". British Board of Film Classification. July 16, 2001. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Scary Movie 2 (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Brook, Tom (July 6, 2001). "Scary sequel 'out-grosses' first". bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (June 15, 2001). "Brando's 'Scary' Scene". people.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. ^ "Natasha Lyonne Recalls when Marlon Brando 'Held My Boob' in Scary Movie 2: 'Showbiz Was A-Okay'". Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Hugh Grant up for Harry Potter role". theguardian.com. June 29, 2001. Archived from the original on January 6, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  8. ^ Wallis, J. Doyle (December 26, 2001). "Scary Movie 2". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  9. ^ Saccone, Melinda (December 7, 2001). "Rental Spending Down for Week Ended Dec. 3, But December Holds Gifts". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2001. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Scary Movie 2 Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  11. ^ Linder, Brian (July 10, 2001). "Weekend Box Office: Reigning Cats & Dogs". IGN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Scary Movie". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "Scary Movie 2 (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "Scary Movie 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  15. ^ "SCARY MOVIE II (2001) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
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