It's hard to forget the golden era of teen scary movies, ushered in by modern classic horror flick Scream in 1996. Of course, the Wes Craven-helmed movie was followed by many teen slashers: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, Final Destination, and more Scream in the form of sequels. Naturally, the whole genre became ripe for parody in the spoof flick Scary Movie , which also features so many people you forgot were in the comedy. Released in 2000, Scary Movie is celebrating its 15-year anniversary of mockery.
Fun fact: Scary Movie's title is actually the original title of Scream. Crazy, eh? Well, it's not as crazy as Scary Movie, which takes teenage horror to a whole other level. In addition to Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, the movie spoofs and parodies Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, and more late '90s awesomeness. In Roger Ebert's original review in 2000, he said, "That the teenagers in the movie are played mostly by actors in their late 20s and 30s — and that the movie comments on this. That the movie's virgin has a certificate to prove it." Those too-old-to-be-teens actors, which included the Wayans brothers, were so hilarious in the movie you may have forgotten they were about to be break out stars.
Here are some of the folks who you may have forgotten were in Scary Movie.
Marlon, Shawn, & Keenan Ivory Wayans
The Wayans family has given us so many hilarious movies and TV shows, including White Chicks, In Living Color, The Wayans Bros., and Scary Movie 2, after which they left the franchise. Keenen Ivory directed the first two films, while Shawn and Marlon co-wrote, starred and produced the first two films.
Anna Faris
These days she might be mostly known as Mrs. Chris Pratt, but Faris' breakout role was as the butt-kicking Cindy Campbell in Scary Movie and its various sequels. While her hubby may have the spotlight for now, Faris is an equally hilarious actress who has charmed audiences in comedies like The House Bunny, Waiting..., and The Dictator.
Regina Hall
Hall played the sex-crazed jokester Brenda Meeks in all five Scary Movie films. After that, she graduated to star in Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too.
Carmen Electra
The model and actress spoofed Scream's opening sequence that featured Drew Barrymore. Electra played an ingenue named Drew (of course) being stalked by a masked killer.
Shannon Elizabeth
The actress embodied a character named Buffy Gilmore, most liekly for two of the WB's most famous hit TV series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls.
Cheri Oteri
This Saturday Night Live alum steps into the nosy TV reporter role that Scream filled with Courteney Cox, who played Gail Weathers in the horror franchise. In Scary Movie, Oteri plays Gail Hailstorm.
James Van Der Beek (as Dawson Leery)
This 90s hero makes an uncredited cameo appearance in the movie. As Cindy and her boyfriend make out to Paula Cole's "I Don't Wanna Wait" (aka the Dawson's Creek theme song), Van Der Beek as Dawson climbs up a ladder and peeks into their room, before realizing he's on the wrong set. Whoops.
Images: Miramax Films
