Halloween Prank: Horror Comedy Movie Suggestions
I was seven years old. My mom came in for our nightly chat before bedtime. We talked about my day at school and how my third-grade teacher wanted us to write poetry - a whole book full of more glitter, crayon, and the woes of elementary school than actual poetry. My mom had instructed me to close my eyes as we recited our prayers, said thanks for a good day, and asked for another one. I remember that it was an especially dark night and late into October, with Halloween right around the corner. My mom’s shadow then moved along the wall as she kissed me goodnight, turned off the light, and left the room.
I closed my eyes feeling the deep pull of unconsciousness tugging at my body. But something was wrong. I heard a sound in the room, a light breeze or... an exhale. I pulled the covers over my head and held my breath to make sure it was just me breathing, but it wasn’t. I lifted up the sheets and got up from the bed. A slightly open window could make a similar sound if there was wind, so I checked the locks on both the windows. That wasn't it.
In defeat, I sat under the window and listened. It was louder now and I was finally 100% positive that it was someone else breathing in the darkness of my bedroom.
With a deep breath and the courage I didn’t know I had, I slowly started to tiptoe back towards my bed. I'll just go to sleep and tell dad in the morning, I thought.
But at that moment, my mom barged through the door and flipped on the light. Our eyes met as laughter rose from under the bed. I felt the grip disappear from my ankle, followed by the sounds of shifting and limbs hitting the bed frame. To my horror, my brother's face popped out and I screamed again. He was smiling from ear to ear, proud that he'd pulled this off and lept out from underneath. My mom practically chased him out of the room as he skedaddled back into his own.
Years later and I have yet to see a scarier sight than my brother’s face.
Obviously, I still tell this story, I have no clue how long he was under the bed. I have this idea that he army-crawled underneath while my mom was saying goodnight. Looking back on it, him laying impatiently, staring at my mattress, and listening to seven-year-old me babbling about poetry is hilarious.
I suppose I could have grown a distaste for scary things after that, but I didn't. Soon, I found myself diving into the world of horror novels and horror movies. Over the years since, I have consumed countless hours of horror content and my passion for the genre has only grown, but there is a special place in my heart for the “Horror Comedy” genre.
Horror Comedy is stereotypically satire and parodies - the most common ones being the Scary Movie series. However, it also includes true horror with comedic scenes woven throughout, giving you, the viewers, "permission to laugh at your fears, to whistle past the cinematic graveyard and feel secure in the knowledge that the monsters can't get you" (Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Page 3.).
Here are some of my "Horror Comedy" movie suggestions, all of which are available at our libraries!
Summary: In Ghostbusters, the doctors Venkman, Stantz and Spengler suddenly find themselves downsized from the University's parapsychology department, they decide to go the entrepreneurial route, chasing down ghostly ghosts, unappetizing apparitions and the occasional insolent succubae. In Ghostbusters 2, the doctors Venkman, Stantz and Spengler regroup to nuke the spooks in this high-spirited comedy. Sidelined after their spectacular save of New York CIty five years ago, the heroes of the hereafter once again answer the call when an underground river of ghoulish goo threatens to rot the Big Apple to the core.
Audience: MPAA rating: PG.
Summary: Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah, living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah's mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine, the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. As Zach starts learning about the strange family next door, he soon discovers that Stine holds a dangerous secret.
Audience: Rating: PG; for scary and intense creature action and images, and for some rude humor.
Summary: A college student relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer's identity.
Audience: MPAA rating: PG-13; for violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity.
Summary: Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam, a well-intentioned blabbermouth who's convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam's superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small-town gossip.
Audience: MPAA rating: Not rated.
Summary: Needy is a reserved bookworm. Her best friend is Jennifer, a conceited cheerleader. The two share little in common. They share even less in common when Jennifer mysteriously gains an appetite for human blood after a disastrous fire at a local bar. Soon, Needy's male classmates are steadily killed off in gruesome attacks and she must uncover the truth behind her friend's transformation and find a way to stop the bloodthirsty rampage before it reaches her own boyfriend.
Audience: Unrated [and] MPAA rating: R; sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use.
Summary: A parady of all the scary movies you've ever seen. The victims pile up and the laughs pile on as a group of teenagers find themselves being stalked by a recognizable masked killer!
Audience: Rated R.
Summary: A series of mysterious murders committed by a masked killer transforms a seemingly peaceful community into a place where no one is safe and everyone is suspect. Part horror movie and part spoof of the slasher genre.
Audience: MPAA rating: R.
Summary: When flesh-eating zombies go on the hunt for a bite to eat, it is up to Shaun and his best pal to save their friends and family from becoming the next entree.
Audience: MPAA rating: R; for zombie violence/gore and language.
Summary: Dawn (Jess Weixler) is an active member of her high-school chastity club but, when she meets Tobey (Hale Appleman), nature takes its course, and the pair answer the call. They suddenly learn she is a living example of the vagina dentata myth, when the encounter takes a grisly turn.
Audience: MPAA rating: R; for Sexuality, Language, Disturbing Sequences, Some Drug Use, Violence.
Summary: Two friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students is separated from the group, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count and the laughs.
Audience: MPAA rating: R; for bloody horror violence, language and brief nudity.
Summary: Vulvus, Viago, and Deacon are vampires who live here, among us. They are real vampires; undead, immortal creatures who stalk the night and search for human blood, preferably virgins. Witness the many horrid, abominable aspects of vampire life, such as hunting and feeding, vampire rivalry and fighting with werewolves, as well as normal night to night aspects that make them not so different from us like keeping the flat clean, jobs, shopping, meeting people and trying to fit in.
Audience: MPAA rating: R; for bloody violent content, some sexual material and language.
Summary: In a world that has become overrun with zombies, two men must figure out how to survive. Wimpy Columbus is afraid of his own shadow, while Tallahassee is the biggest, baddest, gun-toting zombie-slayer who ever lived. When they meet two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock, the four strike out for an amusement park that is said to be zombie-free. This mismatched group will have to rely on each other to survive, which could be worse than surrendering to the zombies.
Audience: MPAA rating: R; for horror violence/gore and language.
- by Kim Livingston, IT Department
Love this! Glad your brother's prank led to your love of the genre! I am not a big horror movie fan but I think I am going to try one of your suggestions above!
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