Scary Movie helped launch a new generation of raunchy parody films, with a plot that primarily satirized the late ’90s teen-slasher boom, namely Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the film finds Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her friends, including Brenda (Regina Hall) and Buffy (Shannon Elizabeth), stuck in town with a killer on the loose.
In Entertainment Weekly’s oral history of the film, co-writer Shawn Wayans was blunt about the project’s origins and the challenges of pulling it off.
“We just found these [slasher] movies to be kind of ridiculous, and I thought it would be funny to do a parody,” he said. “But it was one of the hardest movies to write. It looks like a silly, slapstick film, but it was not an easy movie to execute.”
Easy or not, the movie was one of the biggest hits of 2000, raking in over $157 million in the U.S. alone, all while turning Faris into a star and launching four sequels, with a fifth way.
Ahead of that Ferencise revival, pop some popcorn and grab a banana to protect yourself as we see where the Scary Movie cast is now.
Anna Faris (Cindy Campbell)
Anna Faris portrays the cheerful, happy, sometimes ditzy, sometimes perceptive series lead, Cindy. Scary Movie served as a launchpad for Faris’ comedy career. In fact, she didn’t even have a headshot when the film was released.
“I owe everything to that movie,” Faris told EW in 2017. “After the premiere, I flew back to Washington state and saw the movie in a strip mall with my parents, and it was sold out. I couldn’t believe it. People were going a little crazy for it. I had to have a talk to myself about enjoying that experience a little too much.”
The film established Faris as a bona fide comedy star. In addition to being the face of the franchise, she appeared in The Hot Chick (2002) and Waiting… (2005) before landing star vehicles like Smiley Face (2007), The House Bunny (2008), and What’s Your Number? (2011).
Elsewhere, she collaborated with comic heavyweights like Seth Rogen in Observe and Report (2009) and Sacha Baron Cohen in The Dictator (2012). She also performed memorable bit parts in Oscar-winning films Lost in Translation (2003) and Brokeback Mountain (2005).
Faris later soared on television with the long-running, Emmy-winning sitcom Mom (2013–2020) opposite Allison Janney. Back on the big screen, she headlined the gender-swapped remake of Overboard (2018). She’ll soon return for Scary Movie 6.
In 2021, Faris wed cinematographer Michael Barrett, her third marriage. She shares a son with ex-husband Chris Pratt.
Marlon Wayans (Shorty Meeks)
In addition to co-writing the script, Marlon Wayans was the film’s resident stoner, Shorty, who was usually hanging out with friends or, y’know, the killer.
He and his brother Shawn have confirmed that the franchise revival won’t hold back. “We got the gloves off. We’re going R,” Marlon told PEOPLE. “We’re going to have the same fun and the same kind of tone and Wayans flavor that we gave on the first one.”
Marlon got his start on In Living Color (1992–1994), alongside siblings Keenen, Damon, Kim, and Shawn. Later, he and Shawn launched the sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) before pairing up for multiple movies, including White Chicks (2004) and Little Man (2006).
Over the years, he also landed roles in the Coen brothers’ The Ladykillers (2005) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). The veteran comedian has also flexed his dramatic muscles, most famously in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000), but also in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks (2020) and the Jordan Peele-produced horror film Him (2025).
After 18 years, he collaborated with brothers Shawn and Keenan Ivory to write Scary Movie 6. He’ll also reprise his role as Shorty.
Wayans has two children with his former partner Angela Zackery and one child with ex-girlfriend Brittany Moreland.
Regina Hall (Brenda Meeks)
Regina Hall plays Brenda, Cindy’s best friend. Her most memorable scene (of many) may be when she gets murdered by the audience for talking too much during Shakespeare in Love (1998).
“I just remember watching Jada [Pinkett Smith]’s scene in Scream 2, trying to get how she collapsed when she dies in front of an audience,” Hall told EW in 2017. “I literally tried to die like Jada.”
Death, of course, is never permanent in slasher movies, or parodies of slasher movies, for that matter. So Hall returned as Brenda in all three (soon four) sequels.
At the time, the actress was just breaking into the business, having appeared in The Best Man (1999) and Love & Basketball (2000). Shortly afterward, she joined the main cast of Ally McBeal (2001–2002).
Hall found a foothold in both farcical comedies and grounded relationship dramedies, including Think Like a Man (2012), The Best Man Holiday (2013), and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). After landing the raunchy road movie Girls Trip (2017), she appeared in the acclaimed drama The Hate U Give (2018) and Andrew Bujalski’s Support the Girls (2018).
Hall booked a lead role in Showtime’s dark comedy Black Monday (2019–2021) opposite Don Cheadle, and earned more plaudits for Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022). In 2022, she hosted the Oscars alongside Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.
Most recently, the actress starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (2025) in an ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio. She’ll also reprise her role as Brenda in Scary Movie 6.
Shawn Wayans (Ray Wilkins)
Shannon Elizabeth (Buffy Gilmore)
As Buffy, Shannon Elizabeth parodied the girl-next-door archetype, eventually proving to be not so innocent behind the scenes.
In trying to nail horror clichés and performance style, she looked no further than Jennifer Love Hewitt in I Know What You Did Last Summer. “I tried to do exactly what [Hewitt] did,” Elizabeth told EW in 2017. “My favorite line was ‘Oh my God, we hit a boot!’ I remember the movement, how she would pick something up and turn to the rest of the group.”
The Texas native rose to fame as foreign exchange student Nadia in American Pie (1999), the object of Jason Biggs’ affection. The role helped her get a foothold in comedy. She soon booked a major supporting role in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), a lead in Tomcats (2001), and an appearance in the Christmas classic Love Actually (2003).
Over the years, Elizabeth carved out a niche in horror, including Thirteen Ghosts (2001) and Wes Craven’s Cursed (2004). In recent years, she’s found a second career as a poker player.
In 2021, the actress married conservation specialist Simon Borchert.
Carmen Electra (Drew Decker)
Carmen Electra’s cameo as Drew may be brief, but it set the tone for the franchise, embodying horror cliché after horror cliché while running from the killer.
Electra said she stopped in to see the film in theaters and was blown away by the audience’s reaction.
“I had no idea it was going to do so well. I got tickets to go see the movie in the theater, and I sat in the back with a real audience, and I remember after my scene, everyone cheered! It was the coolest thing ever,” she told EW in 2017. “To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a movie where that happened. Well, maybe Star Wars?”
A one-time musical protégé of Prince, the Ohio native soon turned to modeling and acting, becoming known for her appearances in Playboy and her role as Lani McKenzie on Baywatch (1997–1998).
Scary Movie paved the way for more big-screen parodies, including Date Movie (2006), Epic Movie (2007), and Meet the Spartans (2008). She also landed roles in Todd Phillips’ Starsky & Hutch (2004) and the Adam Sandler flick Bedtime Stories (2008).
Electra was previously married to NBA star Dennis Rodman, and later to Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro.
Dave Sheridan (Doofy Gilmore)
As Buffy’s bafoonish brother, Dave Sheridan played an unlikely killer (though Doofy ends up being far less goofy than originally expected).
Sheridan loosely based elements of his character on David Arquette in Scream — and gets the feeling the Dewey Riley actor didn’t take too kindly to his portrayal.
“I’ve met [Arquette] a couple of times in passing, and I remember thinking, ‘I think he wants to kill me,’” Sheridan told EW in 2017.
Sheridan is another regular bit player who’s been getting steady work for a quarter-century now. Perhaps inspired by his role as Doofy, he played officers of the law in such varied films as Corky Romano (2001) and The Devil’s Rejects (2005).
Many audiences may recognize him best as the shirtless, nunchuck-wielding man in the coming-of-age classic Ghost World (2001).
The comedy vet recently appeared in The Resort (2021) and Stream (2024).
Lochlyn Munro (Greg Philippe)
Lochlyn Munro plays Buffy’s boyfriend Greg, a jock who takes himself a bit too seriously, believing that no one will find out about the man he and his friends accidentally killed.
Munro credits much of his performance to director Keenen Ivory Wayans.
“Keenen was all about, ‘What do you have? What can you bring? Just do it!’ He made it comfortable for us to let loose and not worry about making a fool of ourselves,” Munro told EW in 2017. “If we fell on our faces, he would just kind of chuckle from behind the monitor.”
Munro has been a ubiquitous bit player and character actor for decades now, with hundreds of credits to his name. That includes several collaborations with the Wayans brothers, among them White Chicks and Little Man. Elsewhere, he had a key supporting part in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) before fortifying his horror bonafides in The Predator (2018) and Totally Killer (2023).
Perhaps Munro’s most popular role is as Betty’s devious dad, Hal Cooper, on Riverdale (2017–2023). He also had a memorable run on the first season of Peacemaker (2022).
The Canadian actor has two children with his wife, Sharon.
Jon Abrahams (Bobby Prinze)
Jon Abrahams played Cindy’s perpetually horny boyfriend Bobby, who isn’t quite as nice as he seems. The actor told EW in 2017 that his character was based in part on Skeet Ulrich in Scream.
“All horror movies are slightly ridiculous, but these were being melded with popular teen movies,” Abrahams said. “For a good part of Scream, Skeet Ulrich’s character’s main objective is to get laid.
So I played into that.”
Months after Scary Movie’s release, Abrahams starred as the mischievous Denny Byrnes in Meet the Parents (2000). He played yet another friend taken out by a killer in Jaume Collet-Serra’s House of Wax (2005) remake.
The New Yorker has stayed busy over the years, from a run on Boston Public (2002-2003) to a supporting role in We Are Your Friends (2015) alongside Zac Efron. Most recently, Abrahams returned to horror in the underground franchise hit Terrifier 3 (2024).
Cheri Oteri (Gale Hailstorm)
In another nod to Scream, Cheri Oteri parodies Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers as the comically unethical news anchor Gail Hailstorm. She will do whatever it takes to get her story, even if that means covering a murder live as it’s taking place.
“Spoofing these movies was perfect,” Oteri told EW in 2017. “It was just, like, young people getting killed one by one, and the sexier the better. I laughed so much.”
Oteri is best known for her tenure on Saturday Night Live (1995-2000). She’s also been a regular sitcom guest star, appearing on everything from Just Shoot Me! (1997–1999) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002) to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2019) and And Just Like That.
On the big screen, she’s appeared in Inspector Gadget (1999) and Grown Ups 2 (2013), and went against type in the cult favorite Southland Tales (2006)
