Scary movie 4: Descuartizados de miedo

Some movies are like a halfway filled gas tank. The part of tank that has the gas keeps the car rolling, but the empty part doesn't help the car move at all.

Such is the instance with Scary Movie 4. The first half of the film is completely void of laughs and relies on the been-there-done-that slapstick/goofy violence you'd expect to see on a re-run of a Three Stooges episode on PBS. However, the second half of the movie has quite a few laughs and had enough energy to keep me interested in the movie, but the movie needed a refill for the last few minutes, as it runs out of gas before it reaches the finish line.

This time around the plots of recent movies such as War of the Worlds, The Grudge, Million Dollar Baby, Saw, The Village, and quite a few others are intertwined to form a smudge of a comedic plot. Why explain it? Trying to compress the plot into a tiny paragraph is like trying to squash a block of cement in a vice. It just can't be done.

I don't know why Scary Movie 4 has to keep on recycling the same slap stick jokes that have been in the previous movie. The only laughs in this film come from spoken one-liners. It's as if they had no other funny dialogue to come up with, and added fart and ball jokes instead that reminded me of the previous bomb this year, Date Movie. Another problem Scary Movie 4 seems to have is a lack of knowledge of when to stop. There are many laughs, but many of the same jokes are played on for such a long time and are repeated that you feel ashamed that you laughed at them when they started. It doesn't know when to quit.

What keeps the movie alive the most is, like in Scary Movie 3, Leslie Nielsen playing the President of the United States. He again shows us how much he is needed for these kinds of movies, and there is a very funny scene in which he doesn't know what to say during a speech to the United Nations.

If you liked Scary Movie 3, most likely you'll like Scary Movie 4. I don't think anyone who found many recycled jokes in Scary Movie 3 will find anything fresh here. After all, do the movies Scary Movie 4 spoofs have much originality, even when played seriously?

Be honest with yourself.. You don't watch these type of movies for the story, you watch them for the laughs and it delivers just that. There is nothing to learn here, this movie has no depth what so ever but it doesn't need it.

I can safely say that this is one of the most braindead movies I have ever seen in my 32 year long life and I enjoyed every second of it. Don't take it too seriously and you will have a good time.

I really didn't loved the first SCARY MOVIE despite it had some funny moments because I thought that for the most part the gags were of the juvenile humour sort. Second and third were ok, but when I arrived to the fourth I thought that I was watching a different movie than most of the other reviewers (and I still haven't seen the fifth).

In the beginning Dr. Phil and Shaquille O'Neal (as themselves) are in a basement just like Leigh Wannell and Cary Elwes in the ending of the first SAW. After they try to break free Phil notices he cut the wrong foot and then the movie unfolds with a lightning fast parody of films released in those years such as WAR OF THE WORLDS (with Craig Bierko and Michael Madsen in the roles that were of Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins), THE VILLAGE (with Bill Pullman and Carmen Electra in the roles that were of William Hurt and Bryce Dallas Howard), MILLION DOLLAR BABY, SCOOBY DOO 2 and some others.

I liked this installment more despite its paltry 5,1 on IMDB at the moment because some of the moments made me genuinely laugh. Not that there weren't some bad jokes, but the funny moments outweighted the lousy ones, and I never felt bored while watching it.

In substance, if you don't take this movie too seriously, you'll surely enjoy it like I did... and the fact that I am not a huge fan of spoof movies yet I liked it says a lot.

It was rather funny, as to be expected the jokes were hit and miss with there being more hits than misses for me. I thought once again it could have been funnier and there were some unnecessary jokes, but all in all it was a rather funny flick. This one actually plays like a sequel as characters from the previous flick are explained why they aren't here rather than just being ignored all together. For this one the required viewing or basic knowledge of a movie that you need for this one is mainly "Saw", "The Grudge", "The Village", "Million Dollar Baby", and for me the best one "War of the Worlds" (a movie that needed some fun poked at it). There is also something in there making a bit of fun of a movie pretty much you don't need to have seen are know all that much about...you will get it as long as you watch a bit of television. The "War of the Worlds" to me seems to be the main film parodied, however the other films get their fair share of the jokes as well. The opening is rather funny with Shaq and Dr. Phil doing a "Saw" recreation and there are other celebrities who make short visits as well however it is still the same group who forms the core of the cast. Worth a look see, however, if you did not care for "Scary Movie 3" I would say you probably won't like this one.

I went into this film a little hesitantly...How can there possibly be a fourth Scary Movie that still keeps its humour? Well, it was (half) possible. Although the overall structure isn't as tight as the other three, the jokes are often still 'fresh' and there's a lot of slapstick, which, although predictable, is still funny! Anna Faris (Cindi), as always, is still on top form, as is Regina Hall (Brenda) and together, they deliver some fantastic comedy.

If you're looking for a new, original comedy, perhaps this isn't for you. However, if you're a fan of Scary Movie 1, 2 and 3, then how could you boycott this one?! Go for it, even if it's only 80 minutes for a laff and a haff!