Scary Movie is a comedy film series that parodies films in the horror genre. Most of the films revolve around how Cindy Campbell and various other characters deal with the threats that arise in their lives that heavily mirror the ones seen in the films being parodied.

Introduced in Scary Movie Cindy Campbell

Portrayed by Anna Faris Cindy Campbell is the main character of the Scary Movie franchise. In the first film, Cindy is a ditzy brunette who is constantly eluding her sex-crazed boyfriend, Bobby Prinze, and has a drug dealer and addict father Neil. She becomes the killer's next target after Drew Decker, a classmate of Cindy's from B.A. Corpse High School, is murdered. After finally giving up her virginity to Bobby, he reveals himself as the killer. However, the real masked murderer shows up and engages in a martial arts fight with Cindy. Police start to interrogate Cindy after the fact to find the killer, and she realizes the clues point to her friend Buffy Gilmore's brother, Officer Doofy.

Cindy subsequently appears in the next three films in the franchise, going to college in the second film, becoming a news presenter in the third, and a health professional in the fourth. She is best friends with Brenda Meeks throughout the franchise. She is based on the final girls of various horror franchises, such as Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) from Scream and Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) from I Know What You Did Last Summer. Her name is a play on the first name of Sidney Prescott, and her last name being taken from that of Neve Campbell. She is blonde in the third and fourth films. She is a parody of Nell Vance (Lili Taylor) from The Haunting in the second film, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) from The Ring in the third film, Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from The Grudge in the fourth film, and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from Halloween (2018) and Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones) from Wednesday in the sixth film.

Brenda Meeks

Portrayed by Regina Hall Brenda Meeks is the other main character in the Scary Movie franchise. Brenda is Shorty's sister and Cindy's best friend. Brenda was also dating Ray Wilkins, despite the fact that he is interested in men. She gets stabbed in a movie theater by theatergoers due to being obnoxious and annoying during the showing of Shakespeare in Love.

In the second film, Brenda is alive by unexplained means, and is attending college with Cindy. In the third film, she is an elementary school teacher but is killed by the ghost Tabitha. She returns in the fourth film again by unknown means. She is based on Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett) from Scream 2 and Karla Wilson (Brandy) from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, while her name Meeks is a reference to Martha Meeks from Scream 3 (2000). In the sixth film, she is based on Sue Ann Erlington from Ma.

Shorty Meeks Portrayed by Marlon Wayans

Shorty Meeks is Brenda's brother, and he is constantly smoking marijuana with his friends. Shorty is shot by Bobby in front of Cindy near the end of film. Shorty returns by unknown means in the second film. The character is based on Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) from Scream and Titus Telesco (Jack Black) from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, with his last name coming from the former.

He returns in the sixth film, still in High School due to being held back for many years. He is now a crypto investor and live streamer.

Ray Wilkins Portrayed by Shawn Wayans

Ray Wilkins is a closeted football player at B.A. Corpse High School. Although he dates Brenda, he partakes in many homosexual activities, including a hidden relationship with Bobby, which he denies. Ray was apparently killed in the movie theater restroom. He is revealed to be alive in the end, where he teams up with Bobby to pretend to be the killer but ends up getting injured by the actual killer.

Ray returns in the second film, going to college with Cindy, Brenda and Shorty, and continuing his relationship with Brenda. He is based on Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) from Scream, Tyrell Martin (Mekhi Phifer) from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Phil Stevens (Omar Epps) from Scream 2. He also returns in the sixth film, renouncing his homosexual activities in church.

Bobby Prinze Portrayed by Jon Abrahams

Bobby Prinze is Cindy's boyfriend and a fellow student at B.A. Corpse High School. Bobby was arrested once for suspicion of being the killer, but he was let go once the killer was spotted when he was in jail. Bobby, later, fakes being attacked by the killer. He is then found alive and admits that he and Ray have been the ones killing their friends. Bobby also admits that he has been having a love affair with Ray, and that they abducted Cindy's father Neil. When the actual killer shows up, he kills both Bobby and Ray. Bobby is based on Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) from Scream and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) from I Know What You Did Last Summer.

He returns in the sixth film as a hallucination of Cindy in a hospital, based on Smile and it is revealed that he is Sara's father.

Greg Phillippe Portrayed by Lochlyn Munro

Greg Phillippe is Buffy's brutish, unintelligent boyfriend, and he was the one that forcibly swore everyone to secrecy after murdering a pedestrian. He is killed at Buffy's pageant. Greg is based on Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe) (I Know What You Did Last Summer).

Greg returns in the sixth film as the town sheriff and having a son, being based on Judy Hicks in Scream (2022).

Buffy Gilmore Portrayed by Shannon Elizabeth Buffy Gilmore is Greg's girlfriend and is a promiscuous, rich girl. Buffy is the sister of Officer Doofy and claims to be Cindy's best friend. She is also very sarcastic when it comes to confronting the killer in true horror spoof movie fashion. Buffy is based on the character Helen Shivers (I Know What You Did Last Summer) and her name comes from Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), both portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar. She is also partially based on Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) from Scream.

Marlon and Shawn Wayans had intended for Elizabeth to return as Buffy Gilmore in 2026's Scary Movie, but had to exclude her and the character due to the already large number of returning cast members. They have expressed interest in having her return as Gilmore for a future installment.

Gail Hailstorm Portrayed by Cheri Oteri Gail Hailstorm is a pushy television reporter who will do anything to get information, including flirting with Officer Doofy in order to get a lead on the brutal killings. She is also the author of a book titled You're Dead, I'm Rich. Gail is based on the character Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) from Scream. She returns in the sixth film, still reporting on the latest news related to murders in the area. She is killed off when the killer breaks into her surgery room and injects her with a deadly serum.

Doofy Gilmore Portrayed by Dave Sheridan Doofy Gilmore, or Officer Doofy, is Buffy's brother and is portrayed to be a very unintelligent rookie police officer. At the end of the movie, when Cindy finds out he is the killer, he is tearing off his disguise and ends up getting away in a car with Gail Hailstorm. He is a parody of Dewey Riley (David Arquette) from the Scream franchise.

In the sixth film, Doofy has quit the police force and secluded himself from society for many years, up to where he believes the COVID-19 pandemic remains an active threat. He still appears unintelligent (despite the ending of the first film) and comes out of retirement to help Cindy's friends and their children hunt down the killer. It also revealed that he went to trial for the murders he committed in the first film, but was pardoned.

Other Other characters in Scary Movie include Cindy's drug dealing father Neil Campbell (Rick Ducommun) based on Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht) from Scream, Gail's cameraman Kenny (Dan Joffre) based on Kenny (W. Earl Brown) from Scream, the killer's first victim Drew Decker (Carmen Electra) based on Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) from Scream, Shorty's stoner friends, and other classmates, school staff, and police officers.

Introduced in Scary Movie 2 Buddy Sanderson Portrayed by Chris Masterson Buddy Sanderson is a college student and friend of the gang, sharing a room with Ray. He is selected for the paranormal experiment alongside the other student. After initially being rejected romantically by Cindy, he treats her as he would his male friends, roughhousing and teasing her. Later in the film, they become intimate when trapped in a walk-in freezer. He is dating Cindy at the end of the film. He is a parody of Luke Sanderson (Owen Wilson) from The Haunting.

Alex Monday Portrayed by Tori Spelling Alex Monday is a classmate of the gang in college. She is selected for the paranormal experiment. During the night, the ghost of Hugh Kane has sex with her, to which she becomes infatuated with him to his dismay. She dies when Kane drops a chandelier on her. Her name comes from Alex Munday (Lucy Liu) from Charlie's Angels. Her character is partially a parody of Nell Vance (Lili Taylor) from The Haunting (1999).

Theo Keyoko Portrayed by Kathleen Robertson Theo Keyoko is an attractive classmate of the gang in college. She is selected for the paranormal experiment. She attempts to use sex to bribe Dwight Hartman but he refuses. She joins Cindy and Brenda in forming a Charlies Angels style group to defeat a possessed Hanson. She is based on Theodora (Catherine Zeta-Jones) from The Haunting.

Dwight Hartman Portrayed by David Cross Dwight is a wheelchair-using scientist working with Professor Oldman to study paranormal activity at Kane Manor. He organizes a study in which the gang comes to the house under the guise of a sleep disorder study. He has a rivalry with Hanson. He falls out of a window after a battle with the ghost of Hugh Kane, but survived. He is quite adamant about doing things for himself despite his disability, often clumsily doing things and wearing clothes associated with using legs, such as roller skates and jogging suits. He is most likely based of paraplegic characters in various horror films, such as Will Stanton (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), and Franklin Hardesty (The Texas Cahinsaw Massacre).

Hanson Portrayed by Chris Elliott Hanson is the butler and caretaker at Kane Manor. He has a malformed left hand which leaves other characters disgusted, but he describes as being his "strong hand". He was hired by Hugh Kane, but went on to kill him and his mistress after falling in love with Kane's wife, Caroline. He continued to work as a caretaker during Oldman's occupation of the house and the experiments. He was possessed by Hugh Kane, and almost died when the ghost was expelled. He reappeared at the college campus to claim Cindy, but was struck by a car driven by Shorty and killed. Hanson is based on Mr. Dudley (Bruce Dern) from The Haunting, as well as Reverend Henry Kane from “Poltergeist II: The Other Side”.

Professor Oldman Portrayed by (Tim Curry) Oldman is a college professor hosting the characters in the haunted house, being based on characters from The Haunting and its remake. He uses the students to act as subjects for the paranormal forces of the house, under the guise of a sleep disorder experiment. He is perverse, often making suggestive comments and stalking the female characters. He is a parody of Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson) from The Haunting.

Father McFeely Portrayed by (James Woods) Father McFeely is a local priest who arrived to the Vorhees house upon being told that their daughter Megan was possessed. He is a parody of Lankester Merrin from The Exorcist.

In an alternate ending to Scary Movie 2, Father McFeely would have visited the Hell House with law enforcement to inform Cindy that she's the soul survivor of all the people who stayed in the house and that all her friends are dead.

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