Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video |  | 3.5 |
| Audio | | 3.5 |
| Extras |  | 1.5 |
| Overall | | 3.0 |
Scary Movie Blu-ray Movie Review
Scary Movie is a comedy with some laughs that is well past its prime
Reviewed by Brandon A. DuHamel October 30, 2007
Scary Movie, the Wayans brothers’ spoof of 1990’s teen horror flicks such as Scream
and I Know What You Did Last Summer is an over the top and in your face farce that
has some laughs, but this comedy has not aged well. The gags are all too boorish, too obvious, and
too “in the know”, to really stand the test of time, in my opinion, and this is coming from someone
who thought this was funny – way back in 2000.
The now iconic image of the serial killer from Scary Movie
Watching
Scary Movie again for the purposes of this review (a movie I have not watched in
several years) I realized just how weighted down to a specific moment in time the comedy of
Scary Movie actually is. For example, from the very opening scene with Carmen Elektra – if
one is not familiar with Carmen Elektra’s ties to Prince and Dennis Rodman, the whole scene
becomes pretty meaningless, and frankly, not funny at all.
With that said, the movie does have its better moments and is good for some mindless
entertainment, if that’s what one is seeking – just, please, skip those bloody Marlon Wayans
scenes, because he is as annoying as a hammer to the head.
Scary Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Presented in high definition 1080p in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and encoded in the AVC/MPEG-4 video
codec for this Blu-ray Disc release by Disney/Buena Vista, Scary Movie looks pleasing
enough for this sort of film, and certainly far better than any DVD release, but it is not without its
flaws.
Flesh tones are less than accurate, and throughout the presentation there are places that show
some evidence of edge enhancement. There are some slow motion grain compression artifacts
that show up on flat background images such as walls, and more so on metallic images, such as
the scene in the kitchen when Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) is on the telephone whilst the killer is
in her house – the stainless steel refrigerator in the background shows some obvious artifacts.
There are also some spots where shadow details get just a little bit lost. On the plus side,
foreground details are brilliant, particularly in the many well-lit daytime scenes.
Scary Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
There are four audio options available for this release; English 5.1 uncompressed PCM (48kHz/16-
bit), English, French Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby 2.0.
Listening to the 5.1 uncompressed PCM soundtrack, all dialogue is clear, and sounds are well
placed, but the overall mix is stagnant, with not much in the way of discrete information placed in
the surrounds. Ambience is kept to a minimum giving the soundtrack a rather dry, almost
claustrophobic presentation.
Scary Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
The extras for this release do not amount to much and are nothing really to speak of. There are
three trailers, all in high definition,
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The Invisible
six additional scenes (standard definition; 4:3; window-boxed), and the original theatrical
trailer for Scary Movie (standard definition; 4:3). There is also a Behind the Scenes
featurette in which they speak to the cast and all three of the Wayans brothers about the making
of Scary Movie that doesn't really add any insight or value to watching the film. None of
these extras will need to be viewed more than once.
Scary Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
With only slightly above average picture and sound quality, and jokes that were humorous once
upon a time, I can recommend this Blu-ray disc release from Disney/Buena Vista for those
desperately seeking some mindless entertainment as a rental only.
