Monday, April 13, 2009

Cin's Top 10 Horror Comedy Faves

Horror comedies. I love em....correction. I love not lame ones. Horror comedies were what eased me into a the horror movie genre when I first began to show interest aka, the chickenshit years. I figured that if I could laugh while I was watching a horror movie, I wouldn't feel so scared. Granted, that not always the case but the illusion of not feeling the need to wee my pants in fright did introduce me to a genre I love.
So I have my little list here. I love lists. They just make article writing so easy for me. Its ten because I could only think of ten at the time. But I'm sure some of you will say "But what about this!?" and remind me of some awesome gem out there I have completely forgotten. In fact, I had to change this list from five to ten BECAUSE I thought of awesome gems while writing this article.
As my usual disclaimer, this isn't the end all be all list of all lists. This is just my personal opinion...which will probably change after the "but what about this!?" comments start rolling in. I'm a fickle mistress.
Yes Stac, I still have to see Dance of the Dead. Its on the cue!!!
Poltrygiest is on the list too.
So, on with the show.


10-Frankenhooker
"WANNA DATE?!?!" I love her voice. I don't know why, but I crack up laughing at the sound of her WAY too loud Jersey accented voice. Honestly, the movie could have sucked but still had the scene of her walking stiff knee-ed down the street screaming "WANNA DATE!?!" and I still would have enjoyed it. Frankenhooker is fantastically low budget, weird, and so completely over the top you can't believe where it goes. Two words. Super Crack.




9-Black Sheep
Ware-sheep. Need I say more? Black Sheep is more comedy than horror but its grotesque gore and strange mutations of sheeple do push it over into the horror realm. Its the only movie I've seen that could make a still shot of a sheep look menacing. I don't know how they do it. The music? The angle? Who knows but that sheep looked pissed! Not to mention the countless amount of sheep fucker jokes that kept me giggling. I'm easily amused.



8- House
I'm sure I'm one of the few that actually remember this movie. I saw it WAY back in the day when I was in sixth grade. My friends were horror fans and I was a big chicken. But I LOVED House. It was that great combination of goofy/scary that attracted me as a kid. Yes, the house was haunted but it was haunted in an almost infantile way. I think my favorite part of the film was when our hero was chasing around an undead hand that decided to go rogue and hitch a ride on the back of the little toddler he was watching over. It pretty much ended in a flush down the toilet. It was so hilariously grotesque. And thus, the fascination with the morbid began in me. Funny how it always starts in the weirdest ways.


7- Undead
Undead was a film I randomly picked up at Blockbuster. I was actually expecting a serious zombie film. Boy was I wrong. Undead is an extremely silly film full of bizarre sight gags and some absurd humor. From the undead fish, to the aliens saying "oh sorry, my bad" about the zombie uprising, to the kung-fu fisherman, the movie just goes where ever it pleases and really doesn't give a damn about where it takes its audience. Its completely unapologetic in is wackiness. You have to love that in a movie.


6-Dead Alive
Peter Jackson is a sick son of a bitch. I think that's why I love the man. I do wonder if Academy voters saw Dead Alive and Meet the Feebles before giving him that Oscar. I wonder if they plan to take it back after they see them. This movie has some of my all time favorite clown gore ever. The old lady slowly decaying into her soup, the lawn mower massacre, and these are just TWO of the many countless gags in the film. Jackson really paces himself with this one. It starts out slow, almost serious. For a while there he has you going. Then as the movie goes on, weirder moments are introduced, then more...then more. And before you know it you're in the middle of a circus of terror and laughing your ass off as the ring master spanks you. Also, Dead Alive has one of the best movie lines ever written. Seriously. I use "I Kick Ass For The Lord!" often in real life. Try it sometime. If you work customer service, just tell it to that annoying jerk who is demanding a discount he is not entitled to. It will change your life...really.


5-Tremors
What I like about Tremors is that it came out during a rather dry horror period. At the time it was all slasher flicks and chiller thrillers. Tremors gave us a fun old fashioned monster movie. Not just a monster movie, but a monster movie where our two heroes just weren't that bright. Well okay, I take that back. They were morons but they're not the usual monster fair of scientists and soldiers. Nope. Just two redneck bastards that like to blow things up. What was so fun about Tremors was not only a fantastic monster but some really fun characters. I always feel that's a good key to a horror film, having characters you actually LIKE in there. The chemistry between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward is what made it so charming. You couldn't help but love those two bastards. Also, Tremors probably had the best Monster Exploding scene ever. I mean wow. We're talking orange goo and guts EVERYWHERE and not in a cool way but in a "AAH! ITS IN MY SHOES!!" sort of way.


4-Army of Darkness
No horror comedy list is complete without Army of Darkness. Granted, its another one that leans more toward comedy than horror but who cares? This movie gave us the Ash we know and love! Army of Darkness combines the undead with a iconic character in a fantastic setting. Sometimes it gets a little slapsticky but watching Ash get so outraged and frustrated is part of his charm. Not to mention what better villain to fight Ash than evil Ash? Am I right? huh?!
Yes, I love Ash.


3-Slither
So, aliens have invaded right? They 're little wormy things that take over the minds of humans. But do they go to a major city? Nah..they're going to start in some shitty Redneck, back water, town were the people have a raging kegger when deer hunting season opens. This is the awesomeness of Slither. I'm usually in the minority but I absolutely love Slither. I suppose you can chalk it up to Nathan Fillion being in the movie. I'm a Firefly fan so it comes with the territory. But the deadpan delivery of his lines in the face of doom and chaos is hysterical. What I find so funny about Slither are people's reactions. There is no dramatic screaming, crying terror, or dramatic revelations. Nope, There is massive swearing and shooting which is probably how I'd react if I knew how to handle a firearm (a problem my husband plans on rectifying this year.).

2-Evil Dead II
Evil Dead was pure horror. Army of Darkness was pure comedy. In the middle was Evil Dead II. The more I watch the trilogy, the more I'm feeling like this one is my favorite. Bruce Campbell was just starting to get into the swing of Ash, As you watch the movie, you see him develop into the one liner spouting, swaggering, boom stick toting, bad ass we've all grown to adore. And I love watching that transition. Evil Dead II not only has great comedy like Ash fighting his own hand, and awesome sequences like the birth of the chainsaw arm, but truly creepy moments that get under your skin. Sam Rami is a master at that. Evil Dead II has a pitch perfect blend of comedy and horror that really set the bar for future horror comedies. And its pretty hard to beat. I'm sure many of you are getting the fresh tar and feathers ready for me for not making this one #1.


1- Shaun of the Dead
THIS is my all time favorite Horror Comedy. Hands down. I still have yet to find a movie to surpass it. I caught Shaun of the Dead in the theaters. I was expecting a parody of a zombie film; all laughs and silliness and not much else. I was dead wrong. Shaun of the Dead was actually intense! It was not a parody but a loving homage to the zombie genre. Shaun of the Dead was more than just a horror film, it was a character driven comedy. The characters were so appealing and so real that you felt for them the entire movie. It made the absurd moments funnier and the scary moments more frightening. Simon Pegg was perfect as our average Joe lead. His stupid decisions as a man made his triumphs as a zombie killer/leader fulfilling to the viewer. You wanted Shaun to survive, save his friends, and get the girl. Not to mention the fantastic gags in the beginning mimicking the daily rat race as zombie like. God, I've been there. Shaun of the Dead is one of those movies I can watch over and over and I never get bored with it. The script is tight, the jokes are fresh, the characters are appealing, and the zombies are all full of zom! This is my #1 pick.


Runner Up!- Fido
The reason this isn't in the list is because I think of it as a pure comedy that happens to be about zombies as opposed to a horror comedy. Its not a scary film but it IS a brilliant film! Fido turns the typical zombie genre on it ear, making it akin to a Lassie movie. I love the picture perfect 1950's world it paints and Billy Conelly is brilliant as Fido. This movie is in a class all its own.


So there be my picks! Have any recommendations to lay on me? Lay em on me! I'm always in the mood for a good Horror Comedy. And I'm sure there are a ton out there I never even seen yet.

5 comments:

Nojh said...

Thats really interesting! I haven't seen anything below 5 but I've seen everything above it.

I love Slither. "I'm Bill Pardy!" "Remember that time when I saved you from the deer?" I need to go buy that movie. Actually basically I love every movie you listed from 5 through 1, and Fido. I loved Fido.

So I lied above. I've seen House. It was my favorite Saturday afternoon movie when I was a kid. House 1 2 and 3. I just loved watching them all get killed. I especially like the one where the last person gets out... well I won't spoil it.

How old is Dead Alive? The cover looks familiar...

Anonymous said...

For me it was Army of Darkness that allowed me to begin to appreciate horror, so YAY! that it's on the list. :)

And one recommendation that I've already made to Stacy is a movie called "Evil Aliens". Give it a watch when you can.

Anonymous said...

I've only seen Black Sheep and Slither on this list. I've going to "homage" your post on my blog but don't worry, I'll link to you :D

- Zac

PS: Found this blog via google alerts

Cins said...

Nojh>>I think you'd get a kick out of black sheep simply because its so freakin absurd.

Mychief>>AoD is a classic! It's the film where I fell in love with Ash. I have Evil Aliens on my Netflix cue. Heard it was pretty dang funny!

Zacery>>Try to check out the others if you can. They're all pretty good! Welcome to the blog! Pull up a chair and stay a while!:)

thebonebreaker said...

Excellent list Cins - I love 'em all, and definitely do check out Evil Aliens - that one will knock Black Sheep right off the list ;-)