When it comes to parody genre films, it’s evident that its target audience can be quite narrow. However, when you cast famous actors like Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan (who are notorious for their drug scandals and front page ‘pics’ in gossip magazines) it seems as though they are making more fun of themselves as appose to their characters. Which, in turn, could either attract a wider or smaller audience – it’s a bit of a gamble.
SCARY MOVIE 5 is scheduled to be released 11 April this year. I haven’t been a fan of the ‘Scary Movie’ sequels since the Wayan Brothers decided SCARY MOVIE 2 was enough, but this one is set up a little differently – or the trailer gives off that impression. The film is mocking the well-known, suspenseful horror sequels PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. This is an opportunity for the new ‘Scary Movie’ creators (David Zucker and Pat Proft) to make this parody suspenseful and hopefully less degrading for the actors.
Anna Farris is well known for landing the lead role in the Scary Movie sequels with her wide eyes and comedic spin, however, this time she isn’t starring in the film. Fans believe this is due to her pregnancy and scheduling conflicts. Ashley Tisdale (HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) will be taking the lead role of Jody, married to Dan (Simon Rex), who in the previous films played Cindy Campbell’s love interest, George. This could become a little confusing for the audience, unless they justify the name change at the beginning of the film. Another confusing fact for the audience is that, Charlie Sheen’s character died in SCARY MOVIE 4 after overdosing on viagra, although, in number 5 he is playing himself.
Here’s the synopsis:
“Happily married couple, Dan and Jody, begin to notice some bizarre activity once they bring their newborn baby, Aiden, home from the hospital. But when the chaos expands into Jody’s job as a ballet dancer and Dan’s career as an Ape researcher, they realise they’re family is being stalked by a nefarious demon. Together, with the advice of certified experts and the aid of numerous cameras, they must figure out how to get rid of it before it’s too late.”
It feels different to the previous ‘Scary Movie’s’, but what’s interesting is Marlon Wayans (one of the original creators of the ‘Scary Movie’ parody) co-wrote his own film mocking the well made, suspenseful Paranormal Activity sequels. The film is called A HAUNTED HOUSE, which has already been released in the US (11th January). A HAUNTED HOUSE will be coming to DVD in May this year even though it has made $18.1 million at the box office over the weekend, leaving GANGSTER SQUAD and DJANGO UNCHAINED behind.
It will be interesting to see which movie spoofs the ‘Paranormal Activity’ films most effectively. Which film would you prefer to see?
