You know you're in for a painful hour and a half when the very first gag in Scary Movie is a fart joke. Unfortunately things don't get much better.

The trouble this film has is that it's a spoof of movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Those were themselves digs at the horror genre. They succeeded but Scary Movie is a joke too far.

Don't stare at me. Can't you see I'm running from a killer

It's the familiar plot of a group of six teenagers who accidentally kill a fisherman. A year later a series of grizzly murders take place in their home town. It must be the revenge of the, by now, smelly fish fan.

The rest of the film sees the largely unknown cast (with the exception of former Baywatch star Carmen Electra) gradually diminish.

So what can you do while watching this puerile nonsense? Well, you can play spot the movie it's trying to take the rise out of. Keep your eyes peeled (ho ho, funny scary joke - guess how the producers of this film would do that!) for takes on The Blair Witch Project, Basic Instinct and Usual Suspects.

I know it's a dreadful film but I'm going to make the most of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you

There is the occasional visual gag. Our heroes all attend Corpse High School.

And, if you dare see the movie, watch out for the Teen Beauty Pageant section which did force a brief titter from me.

Don't get me wrong. Spoof movies can succeed. Airplane still stands the test of time. I'd like to say Scary Movie will be forgotten long before Christmas. It seems unlikely. The Americans have taken it to their hearts. Scary Movie 2 is already in production. Maybe I just saw it on a bad day!