Research into Horror Comedy: Real Media Products

Horror Comedy is a genre of film which combines the conventions of the horror and comedy genres. Films which are of the horror comedy genre tend to use features of horror films that would normally be seen as scary however, they tend to show this from a different perspective so that it comes across as amusing and comedic.
A short story written by a man called Washington Irving called 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' which was seen as 'the greatest comedy-horror story' as the story made you 'laugh one minute and scream the next'. Here I am going to look at real media products that follow the genre of Horror Comedy.

EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS: Feature Film

Eight Legged Freaks was a film released in 2002 which is of the horror comedy genre. It features spiders that become abnormally large and take over. Spiders are commonly associated with the horror genre as they are commonly feared. However, a comedy element is introduced to this film as the spiders are of a fantastical size and this adds to the comedy due to the unrealistic and strange spiders. This mixture of horror and comedy conventions makes the film a horror comedy. The narrative within this film follows Todorov's narrative theory as the film begins with a sense of equilibrium as everything is normal however this equilibrium is disrupted when the spiders escape and grow. This equilibrium is then restored when the mother spider is killed. This type of narrative is very common within both horror and comedy films as it is very simple and therefore film makers can focus on creating tension/comedy.

ROOMMATES: Short Film

'Roommates' is a short film by an amateur film maker named Trevor Walls. In this film, someone named Daniel moves into a house with two other boys. The idea of a house being where all the action revolves around is commonly used within horror films (e.g. The Woman in Black) However, as well as this use of horror iconography, slapstick comedy is intertwined with the horror elements. This slapstick comedy includes ridiculous food combinations and comedic misunderstandings. In the film, Daniel is suspicious about one of the other roommates and talks to the other roommate about it. However, it turns out that both of them are planning to kill him and steal his organs. This twist is very effective as it shocks the audience and this is a convention of the horror genre. Also, the narrative of the film is rather unique as it follows a circular narrative. This is because at the beginning of the film, Daniel moves in to the house which ultimately leads to death. Then at the very end of the film, an unseen character does exactly the same as what Daniel does at the beginning, creating a narrative that loops. This is very common within horror as it makes the audience assume that it is going to happen again. This combination of slapstick comedy and horror conventions makes this short horror comedy film a very effective film.