While we do love scary horror movies around this time of year (well, honestly at any time of year), we also really appreciate a well-made horror-comedy. Making a good one might be even more challenging than a straightforward horror movie (since most are pretty average).
Horror-comedy can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. It may play straight for laughs, or simply set up a situation that becomes hilarious as the story builds. Personally, I like all kinds, as long as they really commit to the concept.
Let’s look at 5 of my favorite horror-comedy movies.
The Evil Dead Part 2
I’m starting with my all-time favorite. The first Evil Dead movie didn’t really play for laughs. It was a low-budget gore-fest from up-and-coming director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, etc.). Evil Dead 2, is partly a remake of the first movie, partly a sequel, and entirely a different movie. While the gore is actually turned up a notch, with a higher budget, Evil Dead 2 commits to being completely over the top and ridiculous. I saw this movie in a theatre when it came out in 1987, assuming it was going to be a horror movie. But, we started laughing very quickly and it remains one of the best movie theater experiences I have ever had. The entire theater was really into it, shouting back to the screen, laughing hysterically, and having possibly the best time anyone could have in a movie theater.
The one-liners are non-stop and Bruce Campbell is perfect, playing the straight-man as his world turns upside down with horrifying reanimated corpses and body parts. So much blood. This movie really helped create an entire genre of gory horror-comedy and movie fans are better for it.
Young Frankenstein
But, great horror-comedies go back weren’t invented in the 1980s. Mel Brooks is famous for his parody comedies and spoofs - some more successful than others. They are also very much in keeping with the comedy of the era. But, Young Frankenstein manages to stand the test of time and is still funny today. The black & white homage to the original Frankenstein flicks follows many of the standards of the well-known story but adds a huge heaping dose of slapstick comedy, puns, and dad jokes. The acting is fantastic, with Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kah, Teri Garr, and Marty Feldman.
Another film that is filled with wonderful one-liners (Walk this way, Frau Blucher!, Damn your eyes!…), it may not be as utterly gut-bustlingly funny as some comedies, but it manages to be a great tribute to the old black & white horror movies while bringing the funny.
The Cabin in the Woods
A more recent addition, coming out in 2012, this movie was the perfect meta-take on current horror movies. It follows some of the standard slasher flick themes (a group of friends travels to the woods to stay in a remote cabin, the group includes total stereotype character, etc.) but then turns it all on its ear once we and the characters begin to figure out that this isn’t just some horror movie come to life. Instead, it brings in secret government organizations around the world, human sacrifice, and ancient terrible gods that will destroy the world if they aren’t appeased.
The film goes in some very unexpected directions once we break through the ‘reality’ of the horror story to the underlying horror story beneath. You get the full boat of standard horror movie themes with characters who decide they don’t want to play by the rules or their selected stereotypical roles. It gets pretty bonkers. You get to enjoy various ‘bad’ characters get their just desserts from various horrific monsters and the world just might be ending by the time the movie wraps up. But, it’s a really fun ride along the way.
What We Do in the Shadows
What happens when you take the mockumentary style of The Office and layer it onto a group of vampires living in modern New Zealand society? You get a wonderfully weird romp from then-new director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok). The movie delivers the most wonderful fish-out-water story with these ancient vampires trying to make sense of modern society. Let’s say they haven’t really adapted all that well, beyond deciding to live together in a flat. You get standard roommate humor (why won’t the youngest of the group - 183 years old - wash his own blood dishes!)
Then, throw in a few fun outside characters, like the new vampire who keeps telling girls in bars that he’s like the “main guy in Twilight.” They also deal with typical vampire problems like sunlight, packs of werewolves, and nosy police officers, all while continuing to find victims to stay fed, and the need for someone to help tell them how they look, since mirrors don’t work. If you enjoy a little vampire humor and love the style of shows like The Office, then this movie should be right tup your alley. Bonus, there is a TV series on FX based on the show and it is equally wonderful.
Zombieland
It seems like Zombies have been one of the most popular horror movie and TV series monsters for quite a few years now. So, you know that some directors are going to take the concept in a funny (if darkly funny) direction. There have been a few good ones (Shaun of the Dead comes to mind), but my favorite is still Zombieland. You get all the usual elements of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, with just a few humans left alive amidst millions upon millions of the walking dead. In this flick, we get Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as four survivors who team up, betray each other, and team up again as they travel across the country someplace where they believe is free of the zombie plague. You also get a hilarious cameo from Bill Murray that really makes the movie.
It is alternately gory and violent, and totally ridiculous and laugh-out-loud funny. Like a lot of comedies, it might be best to see it with a group, but you can’t go wrong checking it out on one of many streaming platforms this Halloween season.
