7 - Horror Comedy

Summary

The monster is the key to the basic horror structure, but sometimes the horror figure will emerge as the film itself, as in Dead of Night, or the best analogy for the horrific situations and events in a movie will turn out to be a movie, as in Peeping Tom and the Scream series. Horror films, and not only the reflexive ones, set traps for their audiences and their characters, frightening and appalling them while presenting horror as the inescapable journey. They also offer avenues of release and safety, which may be a matter of undergoing a period as a monster or merging one's characteristics with those of a monster. One learns from horror and grows from confronting it, as the lawman with the fear of water does in Jaws. Monsters can be killed, and their dying or their corpses are often the last or next-to-last thing shown in a monster movie, to declare that the monster is dead and to focus sympathy if it is appropriate. Supernatural powers can be opposed by other forces, from religion to love, and supernaturally animated beings can be destroyed through ritual and courage. Human monsters can be killed by other humans. But not all horror movies are movies about killing monsters and vanquishing threats. In many the monsters survive, and in some cases the normal world and the world of horror are integrated. This happens in horror comedies as well as in horror documentaries.