#frankenstein

#frankenstein

The Cinema was Made for Horror: A History of HorrorSo you've watched every horror film available and are waiting patiently for the next one to come around, and you can't wait for October when every channel stages a horror film festival. That means you have time to learn more about the classic horror films you've seen, and maybe discover some you haven't.Mark Gatiss, who has worn all the hats in both film and television, produced an extensive documentary for the BBC in 2010 that explores almost a century of horror movies. A History of Horror aired in the UK in three installments in October of 2010. Now you, too, can see it at your leisure. You don't have to watch it all at once, just bookmark this link and come back to it to see more. Part one is titled "Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood." It covers early horror movies, from the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera to the rise of the Universal monster pictures. The Golden Age, as it were.

A List of the Greatest Horror ComediesA horror film uses suspense, shock, and/or terror to stimulate your adrenaline and unleash your fight or flight response. While that chemical response can be debilitating when it's constant, we love that feeling in a temporary rush, which is why we ride roller coasters and why we watch horror films. However, if you add comedy to the terror, you've got a double whammy of emotion. A good joke gives you a rush as well, but also alleviates the terror, so a good horror comedy film is quite like riding a roller coaster. There are several ways to combine horror and comedy. The most common is the horror film that's unintentionally made so badly that we can't help but laugh at the lame plot or special effects. You won't find those films in a list of the best horror comedies. Other methods include:- Poking fun at the absurdities of a classic horror film structure, like the parodies The Return of the Living Dead or Scream. - Subverting stereotypes, like making sweet old ladies into serial killers as in Arsenic and Old Lace, or making the inbred rednecks into completely innocent bystanders, as in Tucker and Dale vs Evil.- Taking a classic horror story and adding nonstop sight gags and puns, as in Young Frankenstein. - Throwing way too many classic horror elements into the mix until you have a farce like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.- Taking a basic comedy and adding horror tropes to hang the jokes on, like An American Werewolf in London or Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.- Making the protagonists so dumb that we cannot help but laugh, like Tremors. - Creating a premise that's too silly for our suspension of disbelief, as in Hausu (House).When you want a horror film that also leaves you laughing, you'll want to consider watching one from The 25 Greatest Horror Comedies of All Time listed at Mental Floss. #horror #comedy #movie #Frankenstein #Scream #werewolf