2003 film by David Zucker
Scary Movie 3 is a 2003 American parody film directed by David Zucker. It is the sequel to Scary Movie 2 and is the third film in the Scary Movie film series. The film parodies the horror, sci-fi, and mystery genres.
The film stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall reprising their roles as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks, respectively. New cast members include Charlie Sheen, Simon Rex, Anthony Anderson, Kevin Hart, and Leslie Nielsen. It is the first film in the series to feature no involvement from the Wayans family. The characters of Ray Wilkins and Shorty Meeks, previously played by Shawn and Marlon Wayans respectively, do not appear, nor are they referenced.
The film's plot significantly parodies the films The Ring, Signs, The Matrix Reloaded and 8 Mile. The film grossed $220.7 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film in the series. It is the last film in the series to be released by The Walt Disney Company's subsidiary Miramax Films, under the brand Dimension Films. It was named the 2004 Teen Choice Awards in the category of Choice Movie: Your Parents Didn't Want You to See. A sequel, Scary Movie 4, was released in 2006.
Plot
Two women discuss a cursed videotape that kills anyone who watches it in seven days. Having both watched it, an unseen entity kills them. Meanwhile, on a farm outside Washington, D.C., widowed pastor Tom Logan and his brother George discover Tom's daughter Sue screaming in the middle of a crop circle.
Reporter Cindy Campbell discusses the crop circles on the news, but it is largely ignored. She cares for her nephew Cody, who has precognition powers. While picking him up from school, Cindy meets George who invites her and Brenda Meeks to a rap-battle. With support from his friends Mahalik and CJ, George bests Fat Joe, but is thrown out after unintentionally wearing a pointy white hood and waves to the largely African American crowd.
Brenda tells Cindy about the cursed videotape she watched and asks her to keep her company. After playing several pranks on Cindy, the girl from the tape, Tabitha, kills Brenda. George receives a phone call about Brenda's death, and Tom meets with Sayaman, who apologizes for killing Tom's wife in a car accident.
During Brenda's wake, George and Mahalik wreak havoc in an unsuccessful attempt to revive her. Cindy finds the tape in Brenda's room, watches it, and receives a phone call warning her of her death in seven days. She calls George, CJ and Mahalik for help. CJ says his Aunt Shaneequa can help. Shaneequa discovers the hidden image of a lighthouse, which can break the curse if Cindy finds it. When Cindy returns home, she finds Cody has watched the tape.
Desperate to save Cody, Cindy types a warning into the news anchor's teleprompter but her boss interrupts her and the anchor recites the wrong message. Meanwhile, the Logans encounter an alien disguised as Michael Jackson, and U.S. president Baxter Harris personally visits the farm to investigate the crop circles.
Cindy visits the lighthouse, where she encounters The Architect. The loquacious old man explains Tabitha was his evil adopted daughter whom his wife drowned in the farm's well, but not before she imprinted her evil onto the VHS tape. He mistakenly returned it to Blockbuster, unleashing the curse. When Cindy asks about how this relates to the aliens, the Architect speculates that Tabitha is summoning them to aid her in destroying humanity.
Returning home, Cindy discovers Cody is missing, the news has been broadcasting the cursed tape for hours, and there have been various sightings of aliens around the world. She tracks Cody to the Logan farm, where he has taken refuge with George. Tom sends Cindy, Sue, and Cody into the basement for safety, as he, George and Mahalik go outside to fight the aliens with help from President Harris and the Secret Service. The aliens reveal they are friendly and have come to stop Tabitha after accidentally watching the tape on a broadcast they intercepted.
In the basement, Cindy recognizes the farm's cellar from the tape and she finds the well where Tabitha drowned. Tabitha appears and takes Cody hostage. Cindy and George appeal to her, offering her a place in their family. Tabitha falsely claims her curse is broken but as she attacks, President Harris opens a door and unintentionally knocks her into the well.
The aliens depart and Cindy and George get married. Leaving for their honeymoon, they realize they left Cody behind. After Cindy narrowly avoids hitting Cody at an intersection, another car strikes him.
Production
On November 22, 2002, Dimension Films announced a third Scary Movie without the Wayans brothers returning. The movie was given the title Scary Movie 3: Episode I — Lord of the Brooms, and the movie was supposed to spoof the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises.[5] Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer were the writers of the movie. David Zucker was going to shoot that script but eventually decided to not use it.[6]
Filming started on March 12, 2003 and wrapped on July 16, 2003. The movie was shot in British Columbia and in Washington, D.C.[7]
Music
The score for the film was composed by James L. Venable. The original soundtrack was released on October 24, 2003, and features hip hop artists such as Buku Wise, Delinquent Habits, Dame Lee, Kebyar, and others.[8] Frank Fitzpatrick served as music supervisor for the film and soundtrack. Jorge Corante produced and co-wrote the majority of original songs used for the feature.[9]
Release
Home media
Alternate scenes
The DVD edition includes a director's audio commentary, several deleted scenes and alternate endings (with optional commentary). A "3.5" special DVD was also released, and contained several more deleted scenes than the original DVD, with an unrated version of the film.
In the alternate ending, Cindy is told Cody does not exist by her psychiatrist (played by William Forsythe). After hitting a few people in the face with a shovel, Cindy asks everybody who is not real to stand over at a different spot. Cody goes over there but is followed by Santa Claus. The aliens then begin to invade but George stops them by transforming into The Hulk. President Harris tries to hulk out but ends up soiling his pants. Cindy enters the Logan House, where she is attacked by Tabitha. She is teleported away to Aunt Shaneequa, who teaches her how to defeat Tabitha. Cindy must then confront hundreds of Tabitha's. She wins the battle by performing moves from The Matrix and teleports back to the Logan House. The cast then gets into a car with the President, but are horrified to learn that the driver happens to be M. Night Shyamalan.
One of the scenes that appeared on the Extended DVD named Scary Movie 3.5 was part of the unrated feature. After Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy shut off the TV, the two compliment each other on their good looks. Anderson then asks if McCarthy wants her "shaved pussy", but this turns out to be a furless kitten.
In an extended scene, the person who runs Cody down at the end is shown to be Michael Jackson.
Reception
Box office
Scary Movie 3 opened at the number one spot in the US, grossing $48.1 million in its opening weekend[3] and $57.5 million for that week. In its second week, it grossed $24.7 million.[10] At the end of its box office run, Scary Movie 3 grossed $110 million in the US and $110.7 million internationally, making $220.7 million in total.[3]
Critical response
Scary Movie 3 received a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 129 critics, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though an improvement over the second Scary Movie, the laughs are still inconsistent."[11] On Metacritic, it has a score of 49 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
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