Blogger Q&A: What is Your Favorite Horror Comedy?
In the Blogger Q&A series, we ask our bloggers here at Flickchart to share their opinions on a movie-related question. Got something you want to ask the bloggers? Submit a question on our official Flickchart Facebook page and it could be featured in a future post!
Who doesn’t like a few chuckles to go with their screams? We asked our bloggers which of their favorite movies offered a heaping helping of horror with a side dish of comedy (or…vice versa). Check ’em out.
Connor: The Cabin in the Woods
I probably like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland more, but I’d like to give Joss Whedon’s horror-comedy some love. The Cabin the Woods is a wonderful mix of horror and comedy. It offers some genuine scares, which is an issue that many horror comedies face. The film is a wry twist on all of the horror tropes earning humor through the scenario it sets up as well as making fun of the inherent silliness of some of the things that happen in horror films. It’s a film made very much from a love of the genre and any fan of horror will likely enjoy it. The film goes into unique territory in the last thirty minutes and much props are given to Whedon for being willing to take chances. One of the better horror films in the last ten years and it perhaps can be given credit for being part of the start of the “horror renaissance” occurring in the past two years. Plenty of references to the many years of horror make this a real treat for fans of the genre. – Connor Adamson
- Global Rank: #704
- Wins 61% of matchups
- 360 users have it in their Top 20
Ross: Scream
To create a truly phenomenal parody, I believe you must also attempt to make a truly great version of whatever genre you’re tackling, while pointing out the ridiculous nature of the genre you clearly love. Take for example how This Is Spinal Tap creates a fully-formed band for us to invest ourselves into, or how Mel Brooks painstakingly recreates iconic scenes from Universal monster films with Young Frankenstein. Scream does this just as well as those other classic parodies in the slasher genre that needed to be lampooned for decades, but this time by a director who helped create the tropes he was parodying. As the first horror film I had ever seen, Scream worked as an excellent scary film in its own right. I might not have understood all the references, but Scream is so well-constructed, that it allows you to make the connections without ever having prior knowledge of the history leading up to it. In creating Scream, Wes Craven made his best film by making fun of his past films, with a reverence for the slasher genre and a wit and humor that makes Scream maybe the greatest horror comedy of all time. – Ross Bonaime
- Global Rank: #1174
- Wins 38% of matchups
- 5758 users have it in their Top 20
Hannah: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead
If you look at my chart, this is not listed as my #1 horror comedy, but I couldn’t resist the chance to write about this delightfully bizarre little indie flick I first caught on Netflix Instant. Written and directed by Jordan Galland and starring Dustin Hoffman‘s son Jake Hoffman, this movie is an unusual combination of genres: a vampire showbiz horror comedy. Hoffman is an unemployed theatre artist who gets a job directing a weird off-Broadway adaptation of Hamlet. Little does he know that the writer/lead actor of this play is a vampire, and that vampire has some dark plans for opening night. The movie is as ridiculous as it sounds, but it’s put together well, and Hoffman plays a perfect foil who is just cynical and detached enough to keep him from noticing the supernatural elements pervading his production. He has the help of a great supporting cast, which includes Devon Aoki as the love interest, Jeremy Sisto as a bumbling detective, and Ralph Macchio as a sleazy businessman with mafia connections. Anyone who enjoys theatre will especially get a kick out of this, but it’s fun for any fan of campy horror comedy. – Hannah Keefer
- Global rank: #46,330
- Wins 41% of matchups
- 0 users have it in their Top 20
Jandy: Young Frankenstein
When you say the words “horror comedy,” there’s one classic that’s in a class by itself. Young Frankenstein is (IMO) the greatest of Mel Brooks‘ many genre parodies, the most iconic role for Gene Wilder (well, I’ll grant tied with Willy Wonka), a loving evocation of the delights and foibles of the Universal Monster films of the 1930s, and one of my top five most quotable movies of all time. The story follows the familiar Frankenstein story from the 1931 film, except with the original Frankenstein’s grandson (who now insists his name is pronounced “Fronkenshteen”) trying to recreate his grandfather’s life-giving experiments. The story retains the child-likeness of the Monster from the original film, but brings in some incidents from Bride of Frankenstein and nods to the eventual erudition the Monster attains in Mary Shelley’s novel. Brooks’ sense of timing and the use of well-placed repetition makes for jokes that are funny for much longer than they should be. Throw in Madeline Kahn, a hilariously camp Cloris Leachman, and a showstopping rendition of “Putting on the Ritz” and sure, this film is more funny than it is horrific, but I have no issues with that. Now, before you go, please….PUT…THE CANDLE…BACK! – Jandy Hardesty
“‘UTTIN’ ON THE ‘IIIIITZ!”
- Global Rank: #177
- Wins 55% of matchups
- 2256 users have it in their Top 20
Nigel: Gremlins
They don’t make ’em like they used to. We’ve imagined what a modern remake of Joe Dante’s 1984 classic might look like, and there’s no denying that a bunch of CGI’d creepy crawlies just wouldn’t have the same charm as the mischievous puppets in Gremlins. As today’s modern monsters keep growing (see Pacific Rim, Godzilla, King Kong), the title creatures in Dante‘s madcap film prove that bigger isn’t always better. Gremlins may be more “comedy” than “horror” for a lot of people, but I remember elements of it scaring the pants off of me as a kid, which is no doubt part of why it holds such a special place in my heart. One minute, Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) is bonding with his adorable little Mogwai, Gizmo, and the next his mom (Frances Lee McCain) is blowing up Gremlins in the microwave. Few movies find such a perfect balance of conflicting tones, and it’s a perfect film to revisit any time during the last quarter of the year. Just remember: You know the rules. – Nigel Druitt
- Global Rank: #519
- Wins 47% of matchups
- 1145 users have it in their Top 20
David: From Dusk Till Dawn
Flickchart says my top horror comedy is Hausu (1977), and I’m not one to argue with Flickchart, but I already took a stab at writing about that little treasure. So instead I’ll write about the time I saw From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). It was just this year, and that fact is significant because the movie is nearly 20 years old and contains a major spoiler, knowledge of which would have substantially lessened my enjoyment. I somehow knew that there was a major spoiler, so I’d been on my guard and avoided precise knowledge of it for years. It was worth the effort. The movie was everything I could have hoped for: thoroughly quotable, jammed with high-caliber performances, as stylish as it is smart. Some viewers, I understand, like the pre-spoiler part and not the post-spoiler part, but I loved the entire package; neither half could stand without the other. Its high placement on my chart was assured by two further facts: I saw it on the big screen in my favorite local classic theater, and the screening was followed by a Q&A with director Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez recounted the history of the screenplay (a piece originally belonging to it wound up as an important part of Pulp Fiction instead), the casting, his innovative editing process, and a memorable matte painting. As if the night weren’t entertaining enough, he also busted out a killer Quentin Tarantino impersonation. From Dusk Till Dawn is therefore not only a high-ranking picture in its own right, but one of my best movie-going experiences full stop. – David Conrad
- Global Rank: #602
- Wins 46% of matchups
- 4782 users have it in their Top 20
Ben: Evil Dead II
In Evil Dead II, director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell revisit the premise of the low-budget cult classic horror film The Evil Dead. The result is a sort of parody sequel that covers similar ground but branches out in new comedic directions. With ten times the budget of the previous film, the special effects are enhanced but the overall effect is one of slapstick gore. Campbell’s character, Ash, takes his girlfriend Linda to visit an abandoned cabin in the woods where they encounter an evil spirit which possesses people in the interest of murder and mayhem. Ash’s efforts to battle the demonic force take many twists and turns inside the cabin and the surrounding woods, all the while showcasing Campbell’s genius for comedy. Some unexpected visitors arrive and complicate things for everyone. The film strikes an inspired balance between gruesome and hilarious. The film was initially conceived to include a portion set in the middle ages – an idea that was scrapped for budget reasons but ultimately led to the third film in the trilogy: Army of Darkness. – Ben Shoemaker
- Global Rank: #282
- Wins 53% of matchups
- 806 users have it in their Top 20
Jeff: Army of Darkness
Part of me couldn’t believe my parents would let me watched an R-rated movie with them. It was kind of exciting – like I was being inducted into a new world. Of course, they’d seen it before and knew it wouldn’t traumatize my then fragile and impressionable mind. What sticks out for me was the fountain of blood coming out from that pit. So. Much. Blood. I turned to see my parents and brother laughing, but I didn’t quite get it at the time. I mean, that was way too much blood. I think it was my mother who explained to me that it was “tongue-in-cheek,” but even that was beyond me. I had to look it up in a dictionary. What Ben stated so succinctly in his entry on Evil Dead II above still holds true for Army of Darkness. And just as Evil Dead II was allowed a bigger budget than its predecessor, Army of Darkness is a near full-blown Hollywood fantasy production. The knights, the maidens, and of course, the Deadites all seem so ridiculous put together, but the ludicrousness of it all makes it fit. Bruce Campbell is also in his purest form here. His performance shows that he is, above all, a master slapstick performer. Take, for example, Ash escaping from the graveyard as he steals the Necronomicon from the pedestal. The ground is disrupted, and skeleton arms pull him to the ground. Then what follows is basically a Three Stooges bit as Ash tries to block the jabs of the boney fingers. Lastly, what makes this work as a comedy horror is commitment. A tongue-in-cheek movie like this requires commitment to the joke – it demands straight and sober performances from all the actors around Campbell to make it seem even remotely watchable, and everyone in the movie gives the same performance they would if they were in Hamlet. – Jeff Lombardi
- Global Rank: #308
- Wins 54% of matchups
- 2163 users have it in their Top 20
To Jandy, I want to say that while you are correct that there are elements from Bride of Frankenstein, the real move that Young Frankenstein is based upon is Son of Frankenstein, starring Basil Rathbone. If you have not seen Son of Frankenstein, watch it and then watch Young Frankenstein, and you’ll see that Young Frankenstein steals so much more from Basil Rathbone’s movie to the point that it actually makes Young Frankenstein even funnier and helps to make Son of Frankenstein more classical.
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t seen Son of Frankenstein, so I’ve only noted the references from Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. It makes sense that Son of Frankenstein would be in play, since Young Frankenstein is about Frankenstein’s grandson. I’ll have to watch that before my next Young Frankenstein rewatch.
Please do. It’s awesome and has Bela Lugosi playing Igor. Of all the Frankenstein movies, Son of Frankenstein is probably my favorite.
I watched Son of Frankenstein over the weekend, and really enjoyed it! You’re right, definitely lots of elements borrowed for Young Frankenstein. Interesting that in Son, he defended his father as misunderstood the whole time, though, while at first in Young, he tried to distance himself. Have to say, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi all in the same movie is pretty hard to beat, too. Thanks for the encouragement to watch it!
Dead Alive by a mile.