Parents' Guide to Scary Movie 4

Movie PG-13 2006 83 minutes
Scary Movie 4 Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Still more insipid movie spoofing. Enough already!

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 14+

Based on 14 parent reviews

age 14+

Based on 48 kid reviews

Kids say the movie is a mix of hilarious and crass humor, featuring immature jokes and inappropriate content, leading many reviewers to question its PG-13 rating. While some enjoy the slapstick comedy and absurdity found in various scenes, others find it boring or unfunny, with frequent mentions of crude content and a suggestion that it might have been better as an R-rated film.

  • humor quality
  • inappropriate content
  • mixed reviews
  • rating concerns
  • absurdity enjoyment
Summarized with AI

What's the Story?

In this sequel, Cindy (dauntless Anna Faris) yet again endures a series of physical abuses inspired by several film plots. She starts off in The Grudge, working as a home-caregiver for Mrs. Norris (Cloris Leachman)and a dark-eyed ghost-boy (Garrett Masuda). She and handsome neighbor Tom (Craig Bierko) meet cute when he hits her in the head with a baseball intended to slam into his rebellious son Robbie (Beau Mirchoff). They trade sad romantic histories. When the alien tripods pop out of the ground (from War of the Worlds), everyone runs in different directions, so they can run into a few hip-hop artists scattered over the landscape (Chingy, Fabolous, and Lil' Jon). Cindy reunites with Brenda (Regina Hall), her best friend from early Scary Movies. The girls end up in The Village, where they're beaten up by a couple of girls whose old-timey dress they try to steal. More madness and mayhem ensue.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 14 ):
Kids say ( 48 ):

Another movie comedy mash-up, SCARY MOVIE 4 suggests the franchise has run out of steam... again.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the point of movie spoofs. Do you need to know the original films to get the jokes? Why is this movie series so popular?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : April 14, 2006
  • On DVD or streaming : August 15, 2006
  • Cast : Anna Faris , Craig Bierko , Regina Hall
  • Director : David Zucker
  • Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
  • Studio : Weinstein Co.
  • Genre : Comedy
  • Run time : 83 minutes
  • MPAA rating : PG-13
  • MPAA explanation : crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language.
  • Last updated : October 9, 2025

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