Like its predecessors, Scary Movie 6 packs a punch of side-splitting parodies targeting blockbusters across genres, particularly horror. The sixth installment in the renowned parody film franchise revives the franchise after a 13-year break. Directed by Michael Tiddes and written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans, and Rick Alvarez, Scary Movie 6 brings the Wayans back to the franchise after their exit following the release of the second installment in 2001 due to creative conflicts. Despite being critically panned, the movie was a commercial success, becoming the second-highest-grossing entry in the film series with $231.4 million in earnings against a $30 million budget.
Beyond its commercial success, Scary Movie 6 is also a franchise hit, with a fresh take on NSFW jokes inspired by notable horror hits and pop culture references. If you are watching Scary Movie for the plot, you might be disappointed. In typical form, the 2026 entry in the beloved parody series turns iconic and horrific moments into outrageous comedy tropes that leave viewers in stitches. From throwing jabs at iconic box-office hits to giving nods to some fan-favorite projects, Scary Movie 6 promised to cross every line, and it did. Beyond pop culture hits like KPop Demon Hunters and Michael (2026) parodied in the movie, this piece focuses on horror movies and TV shows that inspired this epic entry.
1. Scream
There’s hardly a Scary Movie without poking fun at the Scream franchise. Since its inception, the Scream franchise has been the primary source for the beloved parody film series, and the sixth installment is no exception. With the Wayans all in on taking fans on a nostalgic ride, Scary Movie 6 spoofed Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022), Scream VI (2023), and Scream 7 (2026), including referring to Shawn, Marlon, Ana Faris, and Regina Hall as the “Core Four” of this franchise. It also poked fun at Scream‘s absurd Ghostface reveals.
2. Terrifier
In a flashback scene, Art the Clown hands out body parts to children, and Cindy Campbell’s (Ana Faris) daughter Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) gets a severed arm while her mom is focused on her phone. The scene targets disengaged mothers as it turns the Christmas mall massacre in Terrifier 3 into an NSFW moment with Art the Clown pretending to be Santa. Original Terrifier stars Felissa Rose and Michael Leavy showed up for cameos in the scene.
3. Smile
Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024) also made the cut when Cindy starts seeing smiling people everywhere, including her dead ex Bobby with a creepy smirk. After hitting him with a bedpan in the hospital, she realizes it’s just a random patient and not a risen-from-the-dead Bobby. This references the Smile franchise’s signature creepy smile. The reference is also similar to the monsters in the Prime show From.
4. M3GAN
Scary Movie has a knack for targeting the most acclaimed and bizarre horror films, and M3GAN falls under that category. The spoof is hard to miss as what looks like the AI killer doll appears in the subway scene, showcasing that infamous dance sequence. The jab makes the murderous doll a little less terrifying.
5. Wednesday
One of the most beloved TV characters of the decade, Wednesday Addams, portrayed by Jenna Ortega in the acclaimed eponymous horror series, was featured in Scary Movie 6 as Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), Cindy’s teenage daughter. Tuesday rocked Wednesday’s signature black hair with bangs and pigtail braids. The hit Netflix series is the only show that got a major parody in this installment.
6. Final Destination: Bloodlines
In the franchise’s typical comedic fashion, Scary Movie 6 mocked Final Destination: Bloodlines, targeting the horror film series’ Rube Goldberg-style fatal chain reactions. The opening scene of the 2025 Final Destination installment was parodied in Scary Movie 6, targeting the death scene of the young boy known as the “penny kid” (Alfred Milano), who gets crushed to death by a falling piano after taking a penny from the wishing fountain (which is presumed to bring bad luck).
7. Ma
Regina Hall’s Brenda Meeks is a parody of Octavia Spencer‘s Sue Ann in the psychological horror movie Ma (2019). In addition to Brenda’s hairstyle being a replica of Spencer’s hair in Ma, the horror cult classic’s craziness and humor are also represented. However, Brenda depicts a “cool mom” instead of the traumatized Ma on a revenge mission.
8. Sinners
Scary Movie 6 turned some intense, dramatic moments from Ryan Coogler‘s Sinners into a huge gag. The dramatic crashing of the juke-joint party by vampires and the church scene at the opening and ending of the Oscar-winning supernatural classic contributed to the 2026 Scary Movie list of parodies.
9. It Follows
A brief nod was given to the 2014 horror film It Follows when Cindy said: “I tried to run, too, but it follows.” The joke targets the title in a play on words and reference.
10. The Substance
With emphasis on the pressure to maintain Hollywood’s beauty standards, Scary Movie 6 takes a jab at The Substance. For this sequence, Cindy takes a serum, humorously renamed “The Stuff,” to reverse the effects of aging, spoofing Demi Moore‘s character in The Substance. This sequence directly mocks plastic surgery and aging insecurities, embedded in celebrity culture.
11. Halloween
Channeling the Halloween requel trilogy, Anna Faris’ Cindy Campbell rocks Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode look. Beyond the frizzy blonde hair, Cindy also displays Laurie’s paranoid personality, triggered by her traumatic experiences. Like the Halloween character, Cindy is making doomsday preparations for when Ghostface returns.
12. I Know What You Did Last Summer
Aside from the Scream franchise, the original Scary Movie got major inspiration from the first I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) movie. As such, Scary Movie 6 also gives a nod to the 2025 remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer when Cindy and Brenda share a meta-joke about how easy it is to forget horror remakes.
13. Weapons
Zach Cregger’s Weapons (2025) also got a nod on the Scary Movie 6 parody list. The strange imagery of kids running off into the night with arms spread apart was spoofed. Scary Movie 6 turns the horrific late-night trance in Weapons into a comedic sequence, with kids running from accidental weed candies on Halloween.
14. Nosferatu
Robert Eggers‘ 2024 film Nosferatu takes a jab in a bogus trailer that appears before the end of the credits. The mid-credits sequence turns the gothic vampire classic into a buddy-comedy-style spoof with the titular character named “Brosferatu,” featuring Marlon Wayans as Count Brolock.
15. Candyman
The Scary Movie 6 spoof of Candyman features Shorty Meeks (Marlon) chanting Candyman repeatedly in front of a mirror. Instead of summoning the supernatural slasher, a guy with an injured face selling drug-laced candy appears.
16. Longlegs
A post-credits scene titled “Short Hand” gives a nod to Osgood Perkins‘ Longlegs. The spoof pokes fun at the horror mystery’s intense FBI interrogation scenes and serial killer storyline. The scene returns Chris Elliott‘s Scary Movie 2 character, Hanson, to poke fun at Nicolas Cage‘s Dale Ferdinand Kobble, a.k.a. Longlegs.
17. Get Out
Scary Movie 6 is rife with Get Out jokes, but the “sunken place” trope takes center stage. The Wayans offered Get Out director Jordan Peele a role in the parody, but he turned it down.
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