Horror and comedy pair together as well as peanut butter and jelly. They’re perfect complements. It makes sense, considering there’s a similar approach of buildup and rhythm between the two genres. Moreover, humor is often used as a way to alleviate tension in horror. So, there’s no shortage of great horror comedies that seek to elicit both chills and laughs. The newest entry is Deep Murder, which follows a group of porn stars and filmmakers who start getting picked off by a masked killer. It’s a sort of alternate reality set in a tacky soft-core porn film, where a group of increasingly self-aware stock characters are up against a mysterious killer.
The directorial debut of Nick Corirossi, Deep Murder stars Jerry O’Connell, Christopher McDonald, Chris Redd, Katie Aselton, Quinn Beswick, Josh Margolin, Jessica Parker Kennedy and Stephanie Drake. The film was written by Quinn Beswick, Josh Margolin, Benjamin Smolen and Nikolai Von Keller and will arrive in theaters and VOD on June 14, 2019. Ahead of its release, we’re warming up your funny bone with these 10 great horror comedies.
Bordello of Blood
Compared to Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood is the lesser seen and talked about of the two Tales from the Crypt movies released theatrically in the ‘90s. Considering it revolves around a vampire run bordello, referenced in the film’s title no less, Bordello of Blood had its work cut out for it at time of release. But it’s pure B-movie charm with all of the laughs and high-camp you love from Tales from the Crypt. And considering the soft-core porn plot of Deep Murder, well, this bloody horror comedy about a brothel hidden away in a funeral home seems like a fantastic pairing.
The Final Girls
In Deep Murder, the characters aren’t aware they’re in a movie; just like the stock characters of the slasher within this movie- Camp Bloodbath. For Max Cartwright, she finds herself with another chance for closure after the untimely death of her mother, a star of Camp Bloodbath, when she and her friends get sucked into the movie after a freak accident at a repertory screening of the film. Reunited, the women band together to fight off Camp Bloodbath’s killer. This slasher comedy lovingly pokes fun at the subgenre’s tropes and stock characters while giving you all the feels.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Tucker and Dale just wanted a quiet weekend away at their creep dilapidated cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, but it’s interrupted by a group of college kids that just can’t stop killing themselves all over their property. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil humorously flips the script on the killer redneck in the woods type slashers. What if the rednecks were innocent, and it was the meddling college kids causing all of the mayhem?
Scream
Wes Craven’s slasher reinvigorated the subgenre as it deconstructed all of its tropes. More so, it managed to perfectly balance the scares and the laughs; the humor and horror came in equal measure. On the anniversary of her mother’s death, teen Sidney and her friends find themselves at the target of a vicious masked killer that likes to use horror films as part of their deadly game. Unlike a lot of the horror films that had come before, the characters in Scream are savvy to the inner workings of a horror movie.
Re-Animator
This loose retelling of H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West-Reanimator goes for the jugular in terms of gore and laughs thanks to director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, and actor Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West. West’s creation of a reanimating agent brings dead tissue back to life, which proves disastrous for roommate Dan, his girlfriend Megan, and higher-ranking administration of Miskatonic University. It’s Combs and his quirky character that provides most of the laughs in this blood-drenched feature, but so too does the film’s villain- the horny severed head of Dr. Carl Hill.
What We Do in the Shadows
This mockumentary playfully and hilariously takes aim at cinema’s love of vampires. It follows a group of vampires rooming together, who have hired a documentary crew to follow their lives. Whether it’s a night on the town, fighting with werewolves, or just a mundane night in, What We Do in the Shadows critiques the vampire movie formula while incorporating spoofs of familiar cinematic references, archetypes, and mythologies.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
For Taylor Gentry and her two cameramen, they think they’re documenting the rise of aspiring serial killer Leslie Vernon as he walks them through his planning of a night of slaughter. From choosing his intended final girl to walking them through his minute by minute breakdown of the fated evening, Vernon is meticulous is in goal of becoming the next Jason Voorhees. But Taylor isn’t aware that she included in Vernon’s plans from the beginning, shifting her from erstwhile documentarian into participant of a full-blown slasher. Vernon’s breezy sense of humor and the break down of the slasher subgenre makes this one of the best modern horror comedies.
Happy Death Day
Tree Gelbman is the typical college mean girl. But when she’s murdered on her birthday, she finds herself stuck in a time loop that forces her to relive the same day over and over, resulting in her murder every time. She has to solve the mystery behind her own murder if she wants to end the cycle, but it has the added benefit of causing her to grow as a person. Happy Death Day takes a humorous Groundhog Day approach to this slasher, giving us a unique spin on the Final Girl that revels in the comedy.
Teeth
A twisted parody of sexual repression, Teeth follows Dawn O’Keefe, a young spokesperson for an abstinence group. When her fellow group member and crush gets too sexually aggressive, Dawn discovers her vagina has teeth. Literally. That crush isn’t the only male in Dawn’s life looking to make unwanted sexual advances on her, and they too will find they’ve bitten off more than they can chew (pun intended). A gory satire with a particular brand of humor that won’t be for everyone, but for those looking for something a bit more offbeat with a message, this one is a must.
The Cabin in the Woods
Like the characters in Deep Murder, the five friends heading to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway have no idea that they’re unwitting participants horror story. This one of the choose-your-own variety. This group of characters all represent the stock horror archetypes, too, from jock to virginal Final Girl. It’s a horror comedy that also deconstructs familiar horror tropes, but its kitchen sink approach and explosive third act makes it an all-timer.
Look for horror comedy Deep Murder in theaters and VOD on June 14, 2019.
