While it's true that we saw some of the greatest horror during the 80's with The Shinning, The Thing, Poltergeist, Hellraiser and The Fly, we also saw the genre take a left turn into funny ha-ha territory and good lord it was scary. When it comes to horror, I'm kind of a serious guy. I get horror spoofs and appreciate them, but for the most part, I like my horror on the serious side. After all, if I wanted to laugh I would have watched a comedy. Just as sarcasm can be a cop-out from making a real statement, so can humor as it relates to horror. The first time I really noticed this new trend of horror/comedy (from here on out I will call it the horromedy) was with George Romero's Creepshow in 1982. On the poster the cut-line reads "The most fun you'll ever have being scared." Creepshow is a good horror movie and I think it delivers rather well in the scare department, but I don't want to have fun being scared. I just want to be scared. It was almost like Romero was issuing an apology before I ever entered the theater. Yes it's true that Romero is no stranger to satire as we saw in Dawn Of The Dead, but I always felt he was still serious about his scares. So what's with having fun while being scared? What happened to the days of people passing out in the aisles and trailers like Suspiria that promise the only thing more terrifying than the first 13 minutes of the film are the last 97. Don't tell me I'm going to have fun. Tell me I'm going to be screaming. Tell me I'm going to have to seek therapy. That's why I go and see a horror movie. It could be argued that the reason I like horror is because I consider it fun to be scared. And I might agree with that argument, but let me decide that.
A few years later, the horromedy took a big step forward with the movie House in 1986. Steve Miner who had directed Friday The 13th Part 2 and 3 had dabbled with the horror genre but decided to turn it on its ear with House. In this movie, a severed hand no longer instilled chills. Instead we were to laugh as William Katt chased the little boy around with the demon hand on his back and then laugh harder as he attempted to flush it down the toilet. In 1987, Sam Raimi remade Evil Dead as a horromedy with Evil Dead II. It is among one of my favorite movies, but still it felt like a step backwards for the genre. Child's Play in 1988 started out creepy enough, but then quickly became absurd as Chucky became less scary and more foul-mouthed. And now the franchise has become fodder for midnight showings.
While it's true that Carpenter, Cronenberg and Barker in particular produced some of their best work during the 80's, some of the success was lost with this shift in the genre. It was as if everyone felt that horror had run its course and the only fertile soil left was with the horromedy. What's ironic is that it took Scream - a commentary on the whole horror genre - to point the genre back in the direction of scaresville. Of course the horromedy is not dead with the likes of Shaun Of The Dead, but it's just not as prominent as it once was. Some might believe that the birth of the horromedy was an interesting period. A time when we looked back on the slasher movies and laughed at the absurdity of it all. But not this guy. I prefer my horror straight up, hold the comedy.
A few years later, the horromedy took a big step forward with the movie House in 1986. Steve Miner who had directed Friday The 13th Part 2 and 3 had dabbled with the horror genre but decided to turn it on its ear with House. In this movie, a severed hand no longer instilled chills. Instead we were to laugh as William Katt chased the little boy around with the demon hand on his back and then laugh harder as he attempted to flush it down the toilet. In 1987, Sam Raimi remade Evil Dead as a horromedy with Evil Dead II. It is among one of my favorite movies, but still it felt like a step backwards for the genre. Child's Play in 1988 started out creepy enough, but then quickly became absurd as Chucky became less scary and more foul-mouthed. And now the franchise has become fodder for midnight showings.
While it's true that Carpenter, Cronenberg and Barker in particular produced some of their best work during the 80's, some of the success was lost with this shift in the genre. It was as if everyone felt that horror had run its course and the only fertile soil left was with the horromedy. What's ironic is that it took Scream - a commentary on the whole horror genre - to point the genre back in the direction of scaresville. Of course the horromedy is not dead with the likes of Shaun Of The Dead, but it's just not as prominent as it once was. Some might believe that the birth of the horromedy was an interesting period. A time when we looked back on the slasher movies and laughed at the absurdity of it all. But not this guy. I prefer my horror straight up, hold the comedy.
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