Script: Did the Horror Comedy Die Laughing?
I have genre on the brain these days, and it being October, I’m thinking horror. And I wonder, is there really such a thing as a horror comedy?
I know, this seems like a silly question. The Lost Boys, you say. Shaun of the Dead, you cry. Army of Darkness, for god’s sake, you yell. But lately, I would beg to differ, and quite frankly, it’s stressing me out.
It strikes me that these films, and many others, fall into the multi-genre trap. Lost Boys for example. There are vampires. And yeah, Corey Haim in 80’s regalia is funny. But this film is not particularly horrifying. If I had to pick, I would say it erred toward coming of age comedy rather than horror. The vampires are never really as frightening as the lengths Michael is willing to go to in the name of peer pressure.
Shaun of the Dead does manage some jumps, but while taking audiences to honestly emotional moments (who could forget Shaun’s Mum?) I was never particularly scared. Shaun is, I would argue, a spoof of the zombie genre, and therefore no more a horror than Airplane! is a thriller.
Closer inspection reveals Army of Darkness to be a comedy quest, with some marching skeletons and creepy consequences for sleeping with the bad guy. The Mummy – an adventure-comedy with a baddie just a little too spooky for kids. Deep Blue Sea – a self-consciously bad horror film hiding its flaws behind funny. Ginger Snaps – funny and smart, but far smarter than funny.
Don’t get me wrong. I adore these movies, and if they really do comprise a unique genre, then this is the one for me, baby. But I’m starting to think there may be no such beast.
Lots of great horrors have funny moments. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” – enough said. But are they comedies, or do they merely have moments of levity to drain some of that delicious, but ultimately exhausting tension?
Sure, there are rules to write this elusive animal – have one character carry the comedy, take a silly concept and make it honestly scary - but when it gets right down to it, can you really be funny and scary? Or does one ultimately have to win out?
Can you have your blood and slip in it too?
posted by Julie at 8:15 AM
4 Comments:
Off to a great start. Keep 'em coming!
9:00 AM
So beautifully written! I agree that we are talking about a different genre - what a great title!!!!
3:55 PM
I've been mulling this over myself, recently. How *does* one do this? Is comedy always going to drain the tension out of fear?
How come it works in the best Buffy episodes, that are both scary & funny? Say, "The Gentlemen"? Is it because the show didn't worry about trying to create both feelings/tensions in the same scene? They just kind of trade off? Funny beat, scary beat, repeat? This does seem problematic in a feature... features do tend to, you know, lean one way or the other.
What's this about Deep Blue Sea being funny?
11:24 PM
I agree, Buffy managed to pull this balance off better than most. Of course, Joss Whedon is the master of mixing genres - I cite Firefly as a true western in space.
I do think there's something about trading off the beats. On a larger scale, Buffy even traded off episodes - some were funnier, others scarier, and then there were the straight up tear-jerker dramas like "The Body". All of these episodes had the smaller elements, but somehow managed to mesh them into a cohesive whole.
As far as Deep Blue Sea... if you can play a drinking game to it... Well, take a sip every time Thomas Jane wipes out in his wet suit.
8:44 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home