Advertisement
Mixing Yuks with Yucks: The Best Horror Comedies of the Past 30 Years
Ash (Bruce Campbell) vs. Ash's possessed right hand in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II (1987).
What is it about the combination of horror and comedy that’s so irresistibly entertaining? Mixing macabre humor with bountiful bloodshed has lead to some horror-comedy classics over the years. One of the earliest, 1948’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, proved that comedy and scares could be achieved in equal measure. And the sub-genre has continued to prove endlessly entertaining today—already this year we’ve gotten such treats as Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and the Fright Night remake, both of which provide an unsettling but satisfying blend of yucks and yuks. With Halloween just around the corner, MM thought it a perfect time to take a look back at some of the most spooktacular horror comedies of the last 30 years.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
directed by John Landis
John Landis’ genre-defining horror-comedy classic has the distinction of being the first film to win the Oscar for Best Makeup. In fact, the Academy was so impressed with Rick Baker’s amazing werewolf transformation effects that it created the award for Best Makeup specifically for this film, and it’s been a regular category ever since. In addition to Baker’s still-impressive work, the film features a truly original tone, which alternates nightmarish scenes of real horror with pitch-black humor, much of the latter courtesy of the deadpan, decomposing Jack (Griffin Dunne), who was killed by a werewolf and warns his best friend, the werewolf of the title (David Naughton) of his ultimate fate. Chock full of both scares and humor, the hugely influential American Werewolf made the horror-comedy combo seem easier than it looked. As the years have proven, this witty, innovative film is in a class by itself.
Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992)
directed by Sam Raimi
While the original Evil Dead is, as its poster proclaimed, “the ultimate experience in grueling terror,” the movie’s two sequels were handled with a significantly lighter touch. Co-writer/director Raimi’s madcap, Three Stooges-inspired sense of humor comes to the forefront, and the series’ everyman protagonist, Ash (B-movie god Bruce Campbell), is transformed into a snarky wiseass with a gift for physical comedy. In Ash’s defense, one isn’t likely to be in the best of moods when forced to do battle with evil spirits conjured up from the Book of the Dead. With their predisposition for slapstick and goofy humor (e.g., Ash sawing off his hand while standing next to a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms), these two films aren’t particularly scary, but they’re about as fun and groovy (to borrow an Ash catchphrase) as one can imagine. (For another Raimi movie with a similarly tongue-in-cheek tone—but more scares—check out the audacious rollercoaster ride Drag Me to Hell.)
Braindead (1992)
directed by Peter Jackson
Before he became Mr. Middle Earth, Peter Jackson was an adventurous, independent moviemaker, crafting offbeat, subversive comedies like the sci-fi satire Bad Taste and the macabre puppet musical Meet the Feebles. But the zombie comedy Braindead (re-titled as Dead Alive in the U.S.) remains Jackson’s greatest achievement from this early period. The movie is an over-the-top gorefest concerning an introverted young man whose overprotective mother is bitten by an infected “rat-monkey” and subsequently returns from the dead as a mindless zombie who kills everyone in her path, transforming them into members of the living dead. Taking inspiration from the Evil Dead movies, Braindead is ultra-violent (especially the infamous “lawnmower” climax) but never takes itself too seriously; all the outlandish set pieces are completely played for laughs, and there’s even a sweet romance thrown in for good measure. Jackson also shows an innovative touch when it comes to the grisly special effects, which are surprisingly good given the movie’s low budget. In 1996, Jackson returned to the horror-comedy subgenre with the enjoyable (and more mainstream) The Frighteners. Once Jackson completes work on The Hobbit, hopefully he’ll return to the kind of risky, outrageous moviemaking exemplified by the goofy and gloriously gory Braindead.
1 of 2 |
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Film Slate Magazine on 11/05/11 at 5:16 pm
“Shaun of the Dead” is for sure at the top of the list.
- Comment by روعة on 11/12/11 at 7:23 pm
Thank u it’s amazing
- Comment by برودكاست on 11/25/11 at 1:29 pm
posted 05.25.12
posted 05.22.12
posted 05.15.12
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
