Synopsis

Cindy Campbell takes a caregiving job at a haunted house, where she encounters the ghost of a troubled boy. As she investigates the haunting, Earth is attacked by enormous alien machines. Cindy, her friend Brenda, and a neighboring family become caught between supernatural clues, a secluded village, and a global invasion, while the film parodies several popular horror and science-fiction hits.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film's main targets include *War of the Worlds*, *The Grudge*, *The Village*, and *Saw*, with additional jokes drawn from *Brokeback Mountain* and *Million Dollar Baby*.

• The bathroom set used for the opening *Saw* parody was built with such accuracy that the producers of *Saw III* reportedly asked whether they could use it.

• *Scary Movie 4* was the first film in the series to feature Brenda on its theatrical poster.

• Cindy and Brenda are the only characters to appear in each of the first four *Scary Movie* films.

• The film includes a large number of celebrity cameos, continuing the franchise's tradition of mixing horror spoofs with topical pop-culture satire.

• One visual gag accidentally substitutes San Diego for Detroit in news footage showing the aftermath of the alien attack.