There are all sorts of reasons to love movies, but there’s nothing quite like the experience of getting scared with a group of people. The horror genre is deeply subjective and it’s fascinating to see how trends from the genre can change across decades and what routinely gets under the audience’s skin.
Movie audiences have become increasingly savvy to genre conventions and tropes, which has given self-aware projects and ambitious parodies new life. The horror genre is such a natural fit for heightened parodies that properly accentuate both terror and humor. A lot of these genre-bending projects find success, but there are some that go above and beyond to become evergreen classics.
10 Piranha 3D Turns Up The Blood And Guts To Stay Afloat
The original Piranha from 1978 is an entertaining enough footnote from the decade that’s notable for featuring early directorial efforts from Joe Dante. Alexandre Aja has proven himself to be one of the most extreme and subversive horror filmmakers of this generation and he perfectly understands the mission with Piranha 3D.
Piranha 3D finds the perfect balance between heightened humor and genuine carnage. The movie’s 3D effects gleefully take advantage of its bloody premise and its surprise ending is still memorable. Its sequel, Piranha 3DD skews a little too far towards the comedy and loses the thread, but Piranha 3D is far better than it has any right to be.
9 Scary Movie Lampoons A Decade’s Worth Of Slasher Staples
Wes Craven’s Scream rejuvenated the slasher genre through its brilliant and satirical deconstruction of horror, but its priorities are to terrify the audience more than they are to make them laugh. Scream was originally written under the working title, “Scary Movie,” which makes it even more fitting that the full-on parody of this series would co-opt the self-aware title.
There are five entries in the Scary Movie parody series. The films are able to tackle a decade’s worth of horror tropes between Scream, The Exorcist, Signs, and more. There are diminishing returns across the Scary Movie films, but they’re an iconic piece of pop culture and the first two movies still have a lot of charm.
8 Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil Is A Clever Parody
Some of the most successful horror movies to come out of the past few decades are the ones that seamlessly blend horror, comedy, and the genres’ evolving reputations. The “hillbilly horrors” trope has been around for decades and it’s still material that’s turned to in modern horror movies.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil works so well because its main characters are two rough-around-the-edges people who the horror genre has conditioned audiences to fear. Clueless college students vilify Tucker and Dale as they get worked up into a bloody misunderstanding. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a clever parody of this subgenre of horror, but it makes sure that the titular characters are people who the audience genuinely care about.
7 Bride And Seed Of Chucky Bring Out The Murderous Doll’s Killer Comedy
The Child’s Play killer doll horror series has churned out seven films, a reboot, a connected television series, and it’s still going strong. There’s a naturally quirky atmosphere to the Child’s Play movies, but there’s a lengthy break between 1991’s Child’s Play 3 and 1998’s Bride Of Chucky.
Bride Of Chucky softly reboots the movies to be more comedic in nature. The following Chucky movies are still filled with death and gore, but Bride Of Chucky and its follow-up, Seed Of Chucky, firmly land in parody territory. This tonal pivot turned out to be the right approach for the Child’s Play series, which has found new life.
6 The Return Of The Living Dead Is A Punk Rock Zombie Party
George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead films are absolutely essential pieces of zombie cinema. The Return Of The Living Dead branches off into its own odd series of undead movies, which are considerably sillier than Romero’s original movies.
There are some excellent prosthetics and gore effects in Return Of The Living Dead. More than anything else, though, it feels reflective of its 1980s setting with the rise of punk rock zombies. There are some terrifying visuals in this movie, as well as the start of fast zombies, but the punk rock angle is enough to push the film into the comedy genre.
5 Shaun Of The Dead Is An Effortless Rom-Zom-Com
Edgar Wright has emerged as one of this generation’s most fascinating and ambitious filmmakers through bold genre experiments like Hot Fuzz, World’s End, Baby Driver, and Last Night In Soho. However, Wright’s feature film directorial debut, Shaun Of The Dead, is a pitch-perfect parody of the zombie invasion.
Wright crafts a moving coming-of-age narrative where Simon Pegg’s slacker protagonist is so upset over a recent breakup that he’s oblivious to the early signs of an undead apocalypse. Wright touches on the major zombie tropes, but Shaun Of The Dead is also a fun and delirious burst of action, comedy, and even romance.
4 Cabin In The Woods Is a Gleeful Mindbender For The Hardcore Horror Fans
Cabin In The Woods is such a brave, unrelenting love letter to the horror genre. It never compromises its vision, which culminates into one of the most surreal final acts that a horror film has ever seen. Cabin In The Woods begins in very familiar territory as a group of teenagers escapes to an isolated cabin for the weekend.
The group begins to suspect sinister activity is afoot, but the genre soon folds in on itself after it’s revealed that a government agency pulls the strings on these – and perhaps all – stereotypical horror attacks.
3 What We Do In The Shadows Is The Vampire Mockumentary The World Needed
The silly mockumentary subgenre has become increasingly popular throughout the 2000s and it’s an effective lens to explore supernatural material. What We Do In The Shadows is structured as a documentary on the lives of a group of Staten Island vampires.
The dry film style and innocuous dialogue makes for such a playful juxtaposition against all of these classical horror tropes. What We Do In The Shadows is a hilarious and brilliant piece of mockumentary filmmaking, but it’s extended this silliness into one of the most popular shows on television, which is still going strong after four seasons.
2 Young Frankenstein Is A Love Letter To Old Universal Horror Movies
Mel Brooks is one of the funniest minds of all time and many of his movies are deeply stylized genre parodies. Brooks has lampooned Westerns, science fiction, silent film, and even the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock. However, many consider his ode to Universal’s monster movies, Young Frankenstein, to be his best work.
Young Frankenstein reinterprets Mary Shelley’s myth of Frankenstein’s Monster, right down to its impressionistic black-and-white cinematography. Young Frankenstein embraces serious visuals and undercuts them with broad nonsense. If the success of the movie weren’t enough, Brooks’ parody masterpiece has also been turned into a popular Broadway musical.
1 Gremlins 2 Is The Perfect Sequel And The Height Of Parody
There is no shortage of talented filmmakers who know how to properly balance horror and comedy. However, it’s hard to compete with Joe Dante, especially during the 1980s and ‘90s. Gremlins is a formative piece of cinema that combines a cautionary monster outbreak with Christmas.
Gremlins 2 is ostensibly a wilder and weirder remake of the original, but the thoroughly odd experience somehow surpasses the first Gremlins at every turn. There are more Gremlins, bigger setpieces, and the self-aware humor is at its finest. The Gremlins even get so out of control that they briefly “break” the movie.
Read Next
About The Author
