Black Comedy is a sub-genre of comedy that is often very controversial as they often make light of subject matters that are commonly very dark and serious. Common themes that run through black comedy films include murder, rape, cannibalism, illness and terrorism. Despite this sub-genre being very controversial, it is also a very popular form of comedy and there are many black comedy films that have been released that were very popular with audiences. Here, I am going to research existing films that revolve around the genre of black comedy.
FOUR LIONS - Feature Film
'Four Lions' is a film by Chris Morris which explored the theme of terrorism. However, they looked at terrorism in a very unconventional way as they decided to base the film on four "terrorists" who aren't very good at creating terror and devastation. Terrorism is usually a very serious subject matter within films but Chris Morris approached this theme using slapstick comedy. This film was very successful within the UK, however it wasn't very successful in the USA as terrorism is a very serious subject matter in the USA due to the devastating Al Quaeda terrorist attacks that occurred on 9th September 2001 in which many people were killed. This is what makes the film a black comedy film as it makes light of terrorism which, in reality, is a very serious and potentially upsetting subject matter. 
DISSOLVE - Short Film
'Dissolve' is a short film which was written and directed by a film maker known as Justin Leyba. This film is of the black comedy genre as the main under-laying themes include depression, sadness and suicide (however the theme of suicide is implied). It also has a light comedy element to the film as the two supporting actors act in a very exaggerated way when they express upset or sadness. This shows them making comedy out of sadness and gloom which is a convention of the black comedy genre. The theme of suicide is also a dominating theme within this film as the main character puts a pill into a glass of water and also is holding a piece of paper. Along with the nature of the film, it is implied that the main character is about to commit suicide, hence the pill, and the piece of paper is his suicide note. This gives the film a sense of darkness and as this is combined with the actors' over-the-top acting it creates a film of the black comedy genre.
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