Sydney's Media Studies Blog: The Hilarity of Horror

The Juxtaposition of Comedy and Horror

The goals of horror and comedy greatly differ. Horror is meant to elicit a sense of dread and fear into the audience. Meanwhile, comedy is meant to amuse its viewers. Horror comedies seek to combine these genres to blend together these contrasting ideas. It often crosses over with the black comedy genre, which is a style of comedy whose subject matter is generally taboo, mostly death.

Horror comedies often attract the same audience as its horror counterpart (15-25 years old) that is mostly male. This genre attracts its audience through its violence and gore that is accompanied by its humor. Gore is often used as a punchline for a joke in these kinds of movies. One instance of this was in “What We Do in the Shadows”, directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clements, was the death of a woman at the hands of a vampire. The film focuses on the point of view of the vampire, making the joke of the absurd amount of blood staining the room. The audience is meant to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation orchestrated by the sheepish vampire. Sometimes this genre's effects can be intentionally ametuer-looking to amuse the audience with the production appearing cheap.

Ex. Viago (Taika Waititi) on a “date” with a woman who he intends to drink blood from.

Low key lighting is very common in horror comedies. They mimic the atmosphere of horror, adjusting to the common conventions in that genre. However, natural lighting may be used instead for the intention of making a scene that would originally be dark and gloomy into a more out-of-place comedic scene. “An American Werewolf in London”, directed by John Landis, features a scene where an undead being goes into the hospital room of the main character. Its lighting does not highlight any shadows in the room, but rather having it be natural and authentic to a regular hospital room. In addition, instead of being a typical zombie or ghost-like caricature, the character instead acts as a normal human being in his speech patterns and actions. Instead of wanting brains, like many undead creatures, he instead eats toast. The dialogue is casual, not dreading too much on the issue of the undead but making fun of it instead. While most of this scene is used for exposition, the opening use of comedy is meant to contrast the dreadful warning being given.

Ex. An undead Jack Goodman (Griffin Dune) warning his friend, David Kessler (David Naughton), of being a werewolf.

Many horror comedies' narratives tend to be the same. These films often follow a monster or a supernatural being, more than often as an antagonist. Many classic monsters are often used in this genre, for example Frankenstein’s Monster, but more traditional monsters, like ghosts or zombies. These tend to be where the marketing leans towards.

The advertisements of this genre can vary depending on the level of comedy the film is hoping to achieve. Horror comedies that focus on zombies may have posters and trailers that mimic that of typical action trailers, the main characters standing in front of the camera in an almost battle-ready stance with the setting or threat of the film looming behind them. This contrasts other posters which depicts a more serious tone of the movie, mimicking its horror side rather than comedic.

Ex. A poster for the film “Freaky” compared to the poster of “Gremlins”

Film Examples

“The Evil Dead 2” directed by Sam Raimi is among the most famous examples of this genre. The film follows a classic horror movie plot; A couple goes up to a cabin in the woods for a weekend but are met with an evil supernatural force. The film actually follows the same plot as the first film in the series, although adjusting the plot to fit in comedy. The film is still able to create horrifying imagery mixed together with perfectly timed punchlines. In one scene of the film, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) is shown spiraling into insanity in the cabin after the loss of his girlfriend. The sequence showcases his descent into madness by a series of dutch angles of the room nearly flooding with blood, all practical effects that can make anyone with hemophilia squeamish, before that action is reversed. The audience is left confused by these series of events, sharing the same emotions of the main character. The objects in the cabin then start to move, from the lamp to a taxidermied deer head. The sound of constant laughter seemingly made by the house makes the audience uncomfortable, scared of the mockery on screen. This fear is then subverted by Ash joining in on this laughter, even mimicking an object in the room moving. The audience is left laughing at the absurdity of the scene. In reality, the character is losing their grip on reality, a terrifying thought that is shadowed by confusion.

Ex. Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) copying the movements of the possessed cabin.

Another film that encompasses the genre of horror comedies is “Shaun of The Dead”, directed by Edgar Wright. It is a satire on the zombie movie genre, criticizing popular tropes seen in the stereotypical apocalypse movie. The film follows Shaun (Simon Pegg) who lives an aimless and boring life as he deals with the obstacles of love. It starts out as a typical comedy, many of the horror aspects are shown completely in the background. The audience follows a character oblivious to the monsters terrorizing the outside world, completely unaware of the danger that he must face. There is a scene in which it follows Shaun’s daily routine, copying a scene at the beginning of the movie, but erasing any aspects of normal society. The streets are empty, cars are abandoned on the road and there is so sign of any normal human being outside. Shaun, however, does not notice any of this and instead carries out his normal routine. This visual comedy repeats a scene that is familiar to the audience but twists it to where it provokes an amusing reaction out of them. The audience's focus is on Shaun, rather than the rest of society.