{"id":6580,"date":"2017-10-25T00:12:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T08:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernjournal\/?p=6580"},"modified":"2017-10-24T20:17:20","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T04:17:20","slug":"scream-yourself-silly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/scream-yourself-silly\/","title":{"rendered":"Scream yourself silly"},"content":{"rendered":"
Darien Campo | Designer<\/span><\/h5>\n

I am an avid fan of horror-comedy, but I can be picky about this genre. Usually because most films turn out to be little more than \u201ccomedies with gore\u201d (e.g. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil.) In this list, I\u2019ve put together what I think are the five best films that perfectly straddle the line between shocking terror and gut-wrenching laughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Frighteners<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Just five years before Fellowship of the Ring hit theatres, Peter Jackson directed \u201cThe Frighteners;\u201d a film starring Michael J. Fox as Frank Bannister, a conman who uses his ability to communicate with ghosts to trick people into thinking he\u2019s an exorcist. \u201cThe Frighteners\u201d is an enthralling mystery that weaves Bannister\u2019s con artistry, his uncertain past, a terrifying mass murder and a mysterious string of deaths caused by an unknown assailant.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Cabin in the Woods<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Drew Goddard, writer of \u201cCloverfield,\u201d \u201cThe Martian,\u201d<\/span> and the upcoming \u201cDeadpool 2\u201d made his directorial debut with \u201cCabin in the Woods\u201d <\/span>\u2014<\/span> a film he wrote with nerd-culture icon Joss Whedon. \u201cCabin in the Woods\u201d is a great deconstruction of all the horror tropes and characters we know so well. It subverts the genre in surprising ways, while still paying homage to and celebrating the gory heritage we all know and love. \u201cCabin in the Woods\u201d is frighteningly original and shockingly funny.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. American Psycho<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Bret Easton Ellis\u2019s novel of the same name can be a difficult read. Those not used to such violent fiction can easily see it as a fetishization of murder and sexual violence, but the decision to have the film helmed by female director Mary Harron helped turn it into a violently hilarious parody of 1980\u2019s greed and narcissism. Christian Bale delivers one of his finest performances as the utterly psychotic Patrick Bateman: a self-obsessed desperate-to-impress yuppie by day, deranged serial killer pop-music aficionado by night.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        1. Bubba Ho-Tep<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          B-movie king Bruce Campbell stars as Elvis Presley, years after he faked his death and now resides in a nursing home with a black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy. Together the two must face off against an ancient Egyptian mummy that is now feeding off the souls of the weak retirement home residents. Based on a novel by Joe R. Lansdale and directed by Don Coscarelli \u00a0(\u201cPhantasm,\u201d \u201cJohn Dies at the End\u201d). \u201cBubba Ho-Tep\u201d is \u2013 well, I don\u2019t even know what else to say, if that all doesn\u2019t reel you in then you\u2019re a lost cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \u00a0Evil Dead II<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            While the original \u201cEvil Dead\u201d is a campy misstep of a horror film by a group of novice filmmakers, and \u201cArmy of Darkness\u201d is a straight-up comedy, the middle film \u201cEvil Dead II\u201d is the movie that I believe perfectly strikes a balance between fear and farce. \u201cEvil Dead II\u201d is a film that is equally inspired by the gore and horror of \u201cFriday the 13th,\u201d<\/span> as it is by the outrageous slapstick of The Three Stooges. Bruce Campbell is at his peak as Ash Williams, S-Mart housewares clerk and demon-slayer. This movie is fast, fun and full of atmosphere. If you\u2019re a fan of the recent Showtime series or terrific reboot, it\u2019s well worth checking out the franchise\u2019s roots here. It\u2019s one of my favorite films, and I cannot recommend it enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

            Contact the author at <\/span><\/i>dcampo13@wou.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Darien Campo | Designer I am an avid fan of horror-comedy, but I can be picky about this genre. Usually because most films turn out to be little more than \u201ccomedies with gore\u201d (e.g. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil.) In this list, I\u2019ve put together what I think are the five best films that perfectly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1017,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1017"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}