Eek, getting the Valentine's drawing I posted earlier done had me running a little late on this O.o but, it's only three in the morning on Wednesday... XD Aaaanyway...
Okay, so, if you didn’t see the head-as-ball gag coming, that means you either were just along for the ride, or presumed I was above that kind of crap.
Guess what? I’m not. I’d apologize, but it’d be insincere. The panel makes me smile.
Truth is, horror and dark humor have a long history, and it’s something I’m rather fond of. I’m going to take a moment and diverge from the usual blathering about folklore and talk about something I’m not terribly qualified to go on about: Film. Truth is, I don’t get to see a lot of movies or TV, and I often forget details, so if I mess up here, please don’t hate me (But feel free to kindly correct me). So, while folklore is my go-to for inspiration, there are lots of other factors and influences, the first of which is:
An American Werewolf in London.
Here there be spoilers!
This film was given a bit of flack by the critics at the time, because they felt it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a horror film or a comedy. Truth is, it’s both, and it’s one of the best werewolf films out there (talking corpses in porno theaters aside.) When I was a kid I begged my folks to let me see it and its sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris (As well as Wolf and just about any werewolf movie I heard about. I kind of feel bad for my folks having to say no All. The. Time.) I was well into my teens before I got to see the sequel, but the original I managed to see through a censored version. Let me tell you, I can live without the hot n’ steamy bits, but when you cut out all of the gore of a werewolf flick, it makes the werewolf kind of fluffy and cuddly, and makes the end feel even more like the scene in Bambi where his mom dies.
Regardless, An American Werewolf in London helped pave the way for more genre-blending films, including horror-comedies (some of which are more of one than the other). One of these is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which, admittedly is definitely more comedy than horror, but it’s no Abbot and Costello meet the Wolfman. No, I’m not talking about the series, I’m talking about the film. Say what you will about the Buffy movie, I think it has one of the funniest vampire deaths in film. If you’ve seen the film, you know exactly which one I’m talking about. If not, ask someone to show you the ‘ruler scene.’ Another film that skirted both genres was The Lost Boys. You can keep your Twilight, if I’m going to watch a vampire film (that doesn’t also have werewolves in it), it’s probably gonna be this one. It too had a variety of comical deaths, including the infamous Death by Stereo. And as they say, “no two bloodsuckers go out the same way,” so the other deaths are a kick too. It’s also a darn good movie.
Of course, werewolves had their comical deaths too. The best of which is likely in Cursed (I know it’s kind of awful. But it’s the first werewolf movie I ever owned, so I love it anyway. It’s a guilty pleasure.) Not only is this one loaded with dark humor, but the way one of the werewolves bites it is amazing. After being unsulted, the werewolf steps into view, calls the protagonist a bitch (Pot and Kettle anyine?) and flips her the bird. And in doing so, draws the attention of a gazillion armed cops and is shot up till she has more holes in her than most werewolf film’s plots. I’m sorry, it’s so dumb it’s funny.
Woth such a rich history of silliness in both werewolf and vampire films (And need I even mention Shaun of the Dead? My favorite Zombie flick!) , I couldn’t resist a little fun here too.
If you don’t like it, then bite me ;3
