Tag: horror comedy

Show Review: Santa Clarita Diet (2017)

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I’m so bummed that this show didn’t get a fourth season. It really deserves one. Few pairings have made me laugh as much as Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore. Liv Hewson and Skyler Gisondo are such a good complement duo, too. For a show about a zombie, this show is so darn cheerful and sunny.

For anyone who hasn’t encountered this glorious horror-comedy, it’s a half-hour show that follows a California family after the mother becomes a zombie. \o/

Zombies in this universe are different than in The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later or Shaun of the Dead. Zombies in this still have their awareness and personality, they’re just alive and rotting away if they don’t eat. (It gets really, really gross, fair warning.) I’d say the zombies in this are most like the zombies in iZombie. But the comedy is probably more Shaun of the Dead, if we’re comparing zombie works.

Joel, the dad, is probably my favourite character. He’s desperate to be a good husband to his undead wife and his comedy is so perfectly timed by Timothy Olyphant. He had me laughing at pretty much every scene. Sheila, the wife, is wonderful. Drew Barrymore is an absolute gem and I love her so much. She’s been one of my favourite actresses since Ever After (BEST CINDERLLA, DON’T @ ME.) Abby and Eric, the younger characters, who are trying to figure out zombies and high school at the same time, are fantastic characters.

Honestly, for a show about zombies, this one is wholesome and lovely. The family aspect is so wonderful and they’re all easy to root for. The humour and jokes are top notch, and I especially love it for not being mean comedy. I like comedy that underscores being kind and supporting each other. Like Bob’s Burgers! Another excellent show, I might add.

Anyways, watch this one. Despite the fact that it was cancelled, it’s well worth a go and the three seasons we got are great!

Film Review: The Addams Family (1991) & Addams Family Values (1993)

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For some reason, I’ve always thought I’d seen the whole Addams Family movie from the 90s, but watching it this Hallowe’en, I found that I didn’t remember any of it! Oh my gosh, though, it’s cracking good fun. I’d stick it up there in the same category of Beetlejuice (1988) and Hocus Pocus (1993). Fun, crazy, spooky goodness. (I also have a post about horror-comedy here.)

The films follow Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandmama, Lurch, Thing, Cousin Itt and Margaret, members of the gothic, macabre Addams family. The film is based on the 1930s comic by Charles Addams. The family delight in all things death, darkness, despair and woe. But they’re a very, very loving family who care about each other’s happiness.

What I love about the storylines is just how whacky and fun they are. I like movies that aren’t afraid to be crazy or over the top or goofy. This is goofy with a side of goth wrapped in a wholesome, if macabre, family that loves each other.

The second one had me laughing just as much. Where the first film follows the storyline of Whatever happened to Fester Addams? which is neatly wrapped up at the end, the second film centres around the arrival of a nanny who sends the elder children off to summer camp so that they can’t uncover her plans to marry Fester and steal his fortune. As she woos Fester, with Gomez and Morticia playing matchmakers, Wednesday and Pugsley are forced to endure a militantly perky camp that refuses to allow anyone to deviate from what they perceive as enforceable fun. Wednesday, of course, revolts:

Honestly, the 90s were such a good era of kids movies and these are two gems. Also, I loved seeing so many actors that I recognise outside of the central characters. My partner and I kept going, ‘Wait, they’re in it, too?!’ So, awesome cameos are a plus. But honestly, for two films centred around a family obsessed with death, these movies are quiet uplifting and lighthearted.

The Joys of Horror Comedy

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I feel like a genre there isn’t enough of is horror-comedy. And there are some winners out there! I watched three delightful ones today: Extra Ordinary (2019), Little Evil (2017) and Beetlejuice (1988). And I can wholeheartedly recommend them all!

Extra Ordinary follows a driving instructor with a Talent for the supernatural who gets roped into helping a man rid his house of his wife’s spirit. The spirit will go so far as to dictate what shirt he can and can’t wear, how much toast he should eat, or where the plates need to go into the dishwasher. Honestly, it’s hilarious.

Little Evil is about a man with a stepson who takes pranks to an extra level – to the point where the father starts to wonder if he’s actually evil. The opening scene is the wife having to dig her husband out of the ground because the stepson buried him. Adam Scott is honestly a gem in this! I laughed so much.

Beetlejuice is a classic Tim Burton! I remember, vaguely, seeing it as a child, but I couldn’t remember anything about it other than Winona Ryder was in it. I totally forget it had Alec Baldwin! It also has Catherine O’Hara and watching it so soon after finishing Schitt’s Creek gave me the giggles. She’s a star!

Anyone else love horror-comedy? I’d love some recommendations!