Examining the Upcoming Reboot of the Terrifying 'Scary Movie' Franchise
Examining the Upcoming Reboot of the Terrifying 'Scary Movie' Franchise
A few days before Halloween seems like an ideal time for this announcement: the new Horror Laughs instalment, hinted at CinemaCon earlier this year, is now in full production. Even better, the Wayans Brothers, who created the first two Horror Laughs comedies but were absent for parts three to five, are back for the revival.
This information is brought to us by Deadline, which mentions that the sixth Horror Laughs will be a cinema release through Miramax and Paramount and will begin filming next year.
Marlon, Shawn, and Keenan Ivory Wayans—with Keenan directing the first two Horror Laughs; Marlon co-writing and co-starring—shared this with the trade, “We're thrilled to be part of the new Horror Laughs and work together again. This is a franchise we started over 20 years ago. We still remember the audience laughing in the aisles and hope to see that happen again. We're excited to work with Jonathan Glickman and his team at the new Miramax to bring these laughs to the big screen where they belong. It's a double reunion.”
The last Horror Laughs was released in 2013; it underperformed at the box office after a history of success. The 2000 original, which parodied the freshly popular Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer slasher franchises, remains the top earner with over $278 million. Horror Laughs 2 followed in 2001, making fun of The Exorcist and House on Haunted Hill; Horror Laughs 3, a fan favourite, took on The Ring and Signs (with a touch of 8 Mile too). Part four had more M. Night Shyamalan (The Village) and Japanese horror (The Grudge) to satirize, along with Saw; part five's falling ratings mocked Mama, Paranormal Activity, and Black Swan.
So far, we don't know what the new Horror Laughs might make fun of, but with the past decade's worth of horror releases, there's plenty for the Wayans to poke fun at, such as The Conjuring films, the entire range of 'elevated horror' (Get Out, Hereditary, The Witch), tech terrors (M3GAN is already cheesy, but imagine a Horror Laughs version of her!), the new Universal Monster movies, and even the concept of reboots and legacy sequels (The Exorcist, Halloween, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). In particular, Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer are both active franchises again, so Horror Laughs would also have a good reason to revisit some old favourites.
There's also no news on who might star in Horror Laughs 6, apart from (presumably) the Wayans—but we'd love to see an Anna Faris-Regina Hall reunion as part of this new project. (Earlier this year, Faris expressed her openness to this idea).
What are your thoughts: is the world ready for more Horror Laughs? Let us know below.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
The upcoming sixth installment of the Horror Laughs series, set to be a cinema release in the future, promises to poke fun at various horror films from the past decade, including tech terrors and the concept of reboots. Io9 shares that Anna Faris has expressed her openness to rejoining the franchise.
The revival of Horror Laughs serves as an excellent opportunity for technology to enhance movie production, potentially leading to innovative special effects and comedic elements in the new film.