Parodies are a polarizing subject in film. On the one hand, the deconstruction of a popular film or series is a welcome addition to film. Taking a movie and pointing out logical flaws in a comedic manner is necessary for the genre and critical growth. On the other hand, some of these films pack their runtimes with so many movie references that they lose sight of the original point of the material. The latter is particularly impactful because these films are by far the most prevalent in parody and have shaped much of the public perception. It's this negative perception combined with films such as Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th that have many thinking that parody is a dead genre.

Though the perception may hold some truth, many films lampoon an entire genre, whereas others point out specific films and tropes. One film has shown that parody still has a place by focusing on a pair of movies. Scary Movie was a parody released in 2000 by director Keenan Ivory Wayans that focuses on '90s slasher films. The film mainly parodies Scream, as well as I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it lampoons many of the structural elements of the slasher genre by and large. Though receiving mixed reviews from critics, the comedy is the last true parody film to lampoon a genre and successfully point out structural flaws. Though coming out 22 years ago, how did Scary Movie succeed where others didn't?

RELATED: REVIEW: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Amusingly Parodies Musical Biopics

Scary Movie Is a Faithful Parody

Silly Ghostface in Scary Movie

Though films like Cabin in the Woods and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil take a critical look at a genre in its entirety, Scary Movie is a rare turn-of-the-century parody that focuses largely on a singular entity. The film centers around Cindy Campbell and her friends as they escape the Ghostface killer, who they believe to be the man they killed the summer before. Scream itself was a satire of the horror genre, and I Know What You Did Last Summer was created off the popularity of the former, so the parody wasn't inherently difficult as both obey the same '90s slasher tropes. Themes of revenge and past scars play in both, so Scary Movie easily parodied both by structure.

By pointing out tropes, Scary Movie was at its best in showing the logical gaps and pointing out how the structure could fail. The film uses the plot mechanism from Last Summer, and pairing it with the Scream setup was a great choice to set the story's theme of vengeance. These moments included the initial tragedy being a red herring for the film's events. The kills, the moments, and even the moments offered a hilarious look at both films, including a parody of the beauty pageant scene from the former that was comically misconstrued as acting. Both the story and even the theme were completely subverted by the twist ending, where it is revealed that the killers were copycats of an ongoing killing spree, and the real killer gets away. Though the film has its issues, leaning more into gross-out humor and dated references, it served as a faithful parody and one of the last.

RELATED: Scream 6 Involves a Major Callback to Scream 2

Where the Parody Genre Went Wrong

MEET THE SPARTANS

Scary Movie was at its strongest when it focused on its source material and at its weakest when it crammed in references. Nearly every parody that followed abandoned the internal structure and parodying the actual films and instead tried to make as many references as possible. Later films, including some from the Scary Movie franchise, abandoned their centralized story and followed a goofier and pop culture-heavy approach. The references aren't inherently a bad idea, but later parodies tend to lean on them.

Films like Meet the Spartans and the aforementioned Shriek are notorious for confusing references with actual jokes. These references do more damage than good by essentially pausing the story to show a slice of the previous year's pop culture. For instance, referencing Sanjaya is not a joke, nor is a Deal or No Deal reference. This is another reason why the abundance of references doesn't work since, by the time the movie reaches theaters, the references are dated. Instead of telling a joke about the internal structure of the film, the moment is lost because of an ill-timed joke that does nothing to further the dissection of the material in question. With so many movies going in this direction, is there a way to save parody? Believe it or not, Scary Movie holds the key.

RELATED: A Scream Theory Names a Third Killer in Wes Craven's First Movie

Scary Movie Tells a Story

Doofy Puts Up His Poster In Scary Movie

The most important aspect of all parodies comes down to one thing: it tells a story. Regardless of the material, jokes, or references, a parody film is still a film. Audiences want to go on a journey that has irreversible change. The main character needs to have a personal journey, themes need to be reinforced, and the film's diegesis needs to be completely different for better or worse. In lesser parodies, this doesn't occur, but Scary Movie has all three aspects.

In the film, the main character Cindy starts as a shy and unassuming follower but uses both wit and experience to overcome Ghostface. She exposes her and her friend's secret and realizes that the secret has plagued and possibly cost her friends their lives. Once the story ends, the man who harassed her and killed her friends is revealed to have used his knowledge of their secret to lead them on. Scary Movie doesn't just function as a parody; it operates as a film, which is what future parodies must focus on.

Parody as a genre isn't dead. Today's strong parodies are satires that focus on how an entire genre works, including great movies like Tucker & Dale or Cabin in the Woods. Of the more film-focused parodies that exist, Scary Movie is one of the last great ones but offers a blueprint for future parodies. Tell a story, make the characters grow, and have something to say about the film in question. Scary Movie is proof that this genre can survive.