Horror and Comedy...can they co-exist?

[Ollie]

DR. STRANGELOVE and the arguments are compelling pieces on the board. When I think of "horror", I still want to get sucked into some suspenseful, tension-filled event-to-come - we know it's going to happen, but there's no escape, it just gets worse and worse. STRANGELOVE dances with a lot of that - "What's ol' Slim gonna do?" And despite seeing it (one of those "100 time" films probably), I see the tension and suspense being built up.

I may have a problem with this formula because the laughter might break up my tension and suspense, thus removing "horror" except in the Genre's spelling for me.

Thanks for all these examples. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASS has a few too-dumb moments where Ol' Granddad can't hold the killing hammer tight enough to deliver a fatal blow. And that film ends with Marilyn laughing hysterically as the big-rig truck runs down the son. But from my first few viewings it, I'm not sure I was ever struck by anything but the gore, and the occasional jump-out-of-the-dark scenes.

The Milton-Berle-esque Father has some funny moments - but mostly sicko funny, not really stand-up-comedy-club funny.

What about SHINING's Jack's Comin' To Git Ya scene? Him peering thru the chopped-hole door? I think I'd dismiss SHINING because, "One joke does not a Comedy make."

[Mr. Arkadin]

Great post Bryce! I learned quite a bit. My drummer loves Evil Dead II, citing it's comedic values. I'm probably gonna have to take him up on a showing now.

[cinemalover]

Bryce,
I really enjoyed your thoughts. I adore many of the movies you site for similar reasons. I hope this post is just the beginning of your feeling more comfortable sharing your views. There are many of us here that would enjoy hearing from you more often.

[Ollie]

Ciao, I love reading this stuff. You're presenting arguments for some films that I dismissed and never re-watched. Some of those get stirred up with good or provocative arguments like you're making here. Thanks.

[SSO Admins]

Let me chime in with those who think that was a brilliant post. And I agree with you on every movie with the exception of Big trouble in Little China, which I have never seen.

By the way, rumor has it that Jeffrey Combs will be appearing in a new Reanimator film. I doubt it will be as brilliant as the original though.

[Dawtrina]

Hallelujah to that, Bryce!

I have very similar experiences. Beyond science fiction movies as a kid, Evil Dead II was one of the first films I saw on the big screen. It's a real gem and I still feel it's the best of the trilogy. And Bruce Campbell is a genius. His cameos are why I watch Spider-Man movies.

My favourite film of all time is Bad Taste, Peter Jackson's debut movie, filmed with a bunch of non-professional actor mates over a couple of years worth of weekends with very little budget and a huge amount of enthusiasm. It's the first film I ever (as an adult) watched, immediately rewound and watched again. It's the only film I've watched over fifty times and probably the only one I've watched over ten. I know the script by heart. It's a complete gem, a Kiwi science fiction horror hybrid that came straight out of Monty Python. Dead/Alive, which I know as Braindead, is also awesome but it's not Bad Taste.

There are plenty of others from the eighties that have more than their share of comedy. Just off the top of my head I'd throw out Night of the Creeps, Anguish, Return of the Living Dead, Phantasm, Basket Case, Demons, Intruder, Frankenhooker, Terrorvision... no, these aren't always great or even good films, but they were effective little horror movies with a lot of laughs to go with their shocks and scares and I'd take any one of these over a Freddy or a Jason any day.

[cinemalover]

Dawtrina,
I had forgotten all about Bad Taste, it's been so long sonce I've seen it. That is a wonderfully over-the-top creature feature that splats laughs to the wall alongside the excessively comic gore.

[traceyk]

"The Lost Boys" has a lot of humor in it as does "Sean of the Dead." I think they both qualify as horror movies too. (Lost Boys has several gory vampire attacks and Sean is forced to shoot his own mother when she becomes a zombie)

[melwalton]

Oh YES. A lot of those Vincent Price potboilers were downright funny. Yes, I know, I have a bizarre sense of humor.
Seriously, it depends on what constitutes a 'horror film Many comedies ( many good ones ) had a murfder or two in the script. .... mel