Scary Movie 4

Sequel fatigue has clearly set in at the Scary Movie camp. The once mighty franchise has sunk into a wobbly groove in which fright flicks are name-checked but not parodied and the jokes are cheap but not pointed. Anna Faris returns as the not overly bright young innocent who moves into the house from The Grudge and lives in the War of the Worlds-ish neighbourhood that’s about to be vaporised. Craig Bierko fills the Tom Cruise role and the two find love even as the country burns and The Village and Saw II referencing occurs. Complaining about the low humour wouldn’t be cricket but there aren’t many big laughs beyond Faris nailing her doltish ingénue part and a few scattered gags — many of the jokes are old, obvious or just marking time. There are the obligatory scenes of President Leslie Nielsen being mush-headed and some bathroom/sexual humour at the expense of a blind Carmen Electra but there’s nothing here that would justify a purchase or even a committed rental. There are certainly worse ways to kill time but this isn’t a movie you actually seek out, it’s something you stumble upon on cable while you’re doing macramé and need something to half-watch. Scary Movie 5 is inevitable though. Extras include a feature commentary with director David Zucker, writer Dave Mazin and producer Robert K. Weiss, in which Zucker reveals, "we don’t do satire and there is no point,” 15 deleted scenes with optional commentary, six largely needless featurettes that range from the art of the director to the special effects to the implementation of rappers, and a blooper reel. (Alliance Atlantis)