How 'Scary Movie' Created Its 'Longlegs' Parody and Left Easter Eggs in the Credits

The newest installment of the 'Scary Movie' franchise delivers a collection of horror parodies, with some of the most entertaining moments saved for after the credits roll.

Writers Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans, alongside director Michael Tiddes, sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the film's creative process. They explained that a comedic concept called "Brosferatu"—a buddy-comedy take on Robert Eggers' Nosferatu—was initially slated for inclusion but was ultimately swapped out for a Michael Jackson biopic parody, given the heightened buzz surrounding that project at the time.

The decision to make the switch also came down to genre considerations. "The Michael piece wasn't horror and we were looking for something that wasn't horror-related," Shawn noted. "So we picked Michael, but we still thought 'Brosferatu' was really funny. So we said, 'Let's put it as an Easter egg.' And it was the same thing with the Chris Elliott scene with little Damon and Heidi."

Among the film's standout sequences is "Short Hand," the franchise's comedic riff on Longlegs. Chris Elliott reprises a role for the spoof, which mimics the original film's interrogation scene and features Damon Wayans Jr. and Heidi Gardner as comic versions of Blair Underwood and Maika Monroe. The pair makes an early appearance in the movie before returning for the post-credits scene.

"We just thought Heidi was hilarious," Marlon said. "We were thinking about that character—it's always about the character. And that character being psychic, but playing it dumb, but still being hilarious."

Tiddes shared insight into the technical approach behind these sequences. The Longlegs parody scenes were shot with deliberately different visual techniques compared to the rest of the film. "What's so fun about these movies, and the challenge, is finding an organic way to transition from one to the next, and then how do you bring it back? Bring it to the story and then bring it to the next joke?" he explained.

To accomplish this, Tiddes employed various strategies involving pacing and sound design. For the Longlegs material specifically, he relied heavily on wide-angle lenses to create a distinct visual signature that set those scenes apart.

Meanwhile, Anna Faris recently disclosed that a joke referencing Melania Trump had been cut from the final version of the film.