Open Forum Friday: Should Comedy and Horror Ever Mix?
There once was a time when comedy and horror were successful and entertaining bedfellows. During the ’80s, movies like Gremlins and Ghostbusters mixed the two genres to create major blockbuster hits, and some of the bigger horror movie franchises at the time also incorporated more and more humour as time went on. Throughout the ’90s, each of the Scream movies made over $150 million worldwide. In general, it seemed like people had no problem experiencing both laughter and scares during the course of the same film. Fast-forward to today, and sadly it seems that just about any combination of comedy and horror on the big screen is now met with box office disappointment. What’s the deal?
Technically speaking, I can see that, in a sense, comedy is the complete opposite of horror. You can’t be immersed in fear and suspense when a movie is constantly goofing around and making self-referential jokes. However, when a talented director finds just the right balance, it is a delight to behold. Drag Me To Hell, Shaun of the Dead, and Slither are proof of that, and yet all three underperformed on some level. Snakes on a Plane, Grindhouse and Jennifer’s Body also seem to be victims of the same problem, although they each have other possible reasons for their commercial failure as well. The Scary Movie series could be the one exception, but I don’t really think it counts because it is a comedy series that parodies horror — it doesn’t actually try to scare you.
While it’s possible that Zombieland may very well break the slump this weekend, it does feel like the cards are stacked against it a little. What do you think? Is there a reason why these recent movies didn’t connect with audiences? Can horror-comedies actually have broad appeal, or are they always destined to have little more than a cult following? Do you dislike horror films with a sense of humour? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (20)
Like any genre mixing, its great when it is done right.
Posted by Nick D on October 2nd, 2009Comedy/horror: They are good
Posted by Joel on October 2nd, 2009I agree with Nick D
Posted by Big Hungry on October 2nd, 2009You’ve got your peanut butter in my chocolate… you’ve got chocolate in my peanut butter….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMM7HPeTHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUIlcNoUy4
When done right it goes very well together but for mass appeal…. This is tuff to do and the balance has to be just right to make it work for a larger crowd.
What Nick D said. “Shaun of the Dead” worked really well….so did “Return of the Living Dead” and maybe “Cabin Fever”.
Posted by Tommy on October 2nd, 2009Its like cookies and milk baby..
Posted by kyriacos on October 2nd, 2009Or Peanut butter and Jam!
Posted by AdamH on October 2nd, 2009i love splatstick. Shooting 1/2 of a horror/comedy tomorrow. Shooting another one come Christmas. Raimi & P.J. did the world good with officially establishing the genre mash.
Posted by Ryan M. on October 2nd, 2009Do you think Drag Me To Hell underperformed? It made like $40+ million domestically. Not bad for kind of an “out there” movie with no big stars to bring people in like Ghostbusters and the Scream franchise had. I’m not sure if it was realistic to expect it to push into the $75 million range. I really do think it just is a matter of getting a hot name cast (Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg) and a good script, which judging by the reviews, Zombieland has.
But I think successfully mixing any two genres has to be one of the trickier things to pull off, in any art form.
Posted by Justice on October 3rd, 2009Not really. I enjoyed Army of Darkness because it was funny, not because it was scary (which i can’t remember it ever was). I have never liked Sam Raimis humouer, and though Drag Me To Hell sucked. But I love Simon Peggs movies, and he does it much better. His movies usually shift from funny scenes to serious scenes, unlike Raimis.
Posted by Reed-tard on October 3rd, 2009Well, Justice. Zombieland isn’t excactly a mix of genres, more like a comedy taking an element (zombies) from a genre, and nothing more.
Posted by Reed-tard on October 3rd, 2009Absolutely, almost every single time. Every horror made in the 80’s and being remade now, etc. Fright Night and Fright Night 2, come on! This is not to say that there isn’t a place for a legitimate psychological thriller/ghost story type tale but the more supernatural the more it has to have some sense of humor.
Posted by Ian on October 3rd, 2009horror is sometimes so over the top that you have to laugh at it. Personally, most horror mosvies are part comedies to me weather they are trying to be or not. It just comes with it. Not in a sadistic way but just because its funny to watch a death scene that could never happen (eg final destination) or some over the top antagonist character (freddy vs jason was hilarious). i think thats where the whole mixing came from in the first place. horror became a parody of itself.
Posted by Alex on October 3rd, 2009Part of the problem, at least I think, is that many horror/comedy films tend to be “counter programing” the weekend they come out. “Drag me to Hell” came out against “UP”. “Slither” came out against “Ice Age 2″ and Shaun of the Dead was a british film, I live in Los Angeles and I even had to hunt for a theater playing Shaun. This week, Zombieland IS the big film opening, all the other films are counter programing or playing in art houses. Now the argument can be that horror fans have no interest in the big films like “Up” or “Ice Age 2″. But I find that most people are more well rounded and will go see the big film and the horror film.
Also in the 80’s, films stayed in movie theaters ALOT longer. Now a days movies come and go from week to week, sometimes if you don’t see a movie the week it’s out, you won’t see it again till it’s on DVD. And with “Gremlins” it was produced by Spielberg post E.T. so I have to image the studio really pushed that when it came out. And “Ghostbusters” had Bill Murray post Stripes and Caddyshack, and Dan Akroyd post “Trading Places” and “Blues Brothers.” Most horror comedies coming out today tend to have well known genre actors or little known character actors or comics.
I do think Horror Comedy can work, and even if they don’t make bank I think those films are still great if done right. But if the issue is Box Office, I think the studio needs to push horror/comedies as the film of the week, and not just counter programing.
Posted by Jurassicalien on October 3rd, 2009FUCK no
Posted by mitch on October 4th, 2009I can only comment on Shaun of the Dead as I have not seen the other recent comedy/horror films but I don’t think that it underperformed in any way at all, I thought it a very good film on all levels.
Posted by steve on October 5th, 2009I think most of us can agree that a good movie is a good movie no matter how well it does at the box office. Shaun of the Dead may have “underperformed,” but it’s still a good movie and a decent mix of the comedy/horror genres. On the other hand, I think Gremlins is mediocre, but it made millions.
Genre doesn’t determine whether a movie’s good or bad; you could just as easily ask if horror/romance movies should ever mix, or splatter/buddy-cup movies, or family/snuff films…regardless of what genre they fall into, some of those movies are going to be good, some of them will not.
Posted by Nat Almirall on October 5th, 2009Absolutely, almost every single time. Every horror made in the 80’s and being remade now, etc. Fright Night and Fright Night 2, come on! This is not to say that there isn’t a place for a legitimate psychological thriller/ghost story type tale but the more supernatural the more it has to have some sense of humor.
Posted by CL on October 5th, 2009I’ll paraphrase George Carlin in saying that you can find humor in anything. Whether it is horrific or not there is a joke in there somewhere. To even question that humor should be excluded to another genre is ridiculous.
Not every horror film can be The Ring or The Exorcist. It’s these kinds of horror films that keep many filmgoers away from the horror genre. I would even say that the horror-comedy subgenre is the best gateway-film into the horror genre.
Posted by Primal on October 5th, 2009One of the strangest comedy/horror mixed movies was The Frighteners. It was genuinely scary in some parts, which most comedy/horror movies aren’t (even the good ones), and some parts were very funny. But it also showed how that mixture could throw the viewer out of the movie. The horror parts were too scary for a comedy, and the comedy was too silly for the horror sections. Overall I like the movie, but the balance is very precarious, and proof to me that to be successful, one should commit more to one way or the other. A comedy with some horror, such as most of the above examples of Shaun of the Dead, Ghostbusters, and Gremlins, or a horror with some comedic or slapstick elements, such as Sam Raimi’s work. The Frighteners shows that an even mix of half and half is clumsy.
Posted by Deven Science on October 5th, 2009Not many films can be funny, scary AND good. They usually fall under one or two of these categories. For example: Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon, Drag Me To Hell, Death Proof, Shaun Of The Dead & Dead-Alive are all much funnier than they are scary but I thought they were all very good movies.
Posted by JT on October 16th, 2009Leave a Reply