01x04 - Horror Comedies

[bunniefuu]

[ominous music]

Mother pus bucket.

JONAH RAY: The whole thing
about horror comedies

is that they shouldn't work.

People try to make
them all the time,

but, like, they
rarely are ever good.

It's like, you know, two great
taste that taste great together.

My vegetable medley.

JONAH RAY: But sometimes it's
just much of both things.

ALEX: Scientists talk about
laughter having come originally

from a fear response
as a way of mitigating

fear or shock, a negative,
as opposed to a joyful thing.

And I think maybe that's why
I like horror comedies that

destabilize me in that way.

And I think that a
really good horror

filmmaker knows that
they kind of have

you riding the line of a laugh.

MICHAEL: They're
not for everybody.

Samba.

MICHAEL: But I find
that the people who

understand and enjoy
horror comedies

are the best kinds
of horror fans.

What are the must-see
horror comedies?

The Necronomicon
Ex-mortis, roughly

translated book of the dead.

For me, the greatest
horror comedy of all time

is Evil Dead II, which
is a masterpiece,

and one of the most influential
films of the modern film era.

TED: Splatstick is a term coined
by Sam Ramey, talking about,

like, it's so gory that it
becomes the Three Stooges.

I mean, essentially,
Evil Dead II

is just one big Three
Stooges bit for 90 minutes

and tons and tons of blood.

PATRICK: The movie will
veer between genuine scares

and, like, real suspense, and
astonishing physical comedy,

like seconds apart.

The perfect representation
is when Bruce Campbell goes

to the woodshed looking
for some kind of weapon,

and he pulls back a curtain.

And on a shelf...

ASH: Chainsaw.

They have drawn on the
wall an outline of a chainsaw

to indicate where a chainsaw
should go, but it's not there.

And so you have this
funny, little sight gag.

And then, suddenly, the
door gets kicked in,

and the decapitated
corpse of his girlfriend

charges in with a chainsaw,
attacking him with it.

And he manages to knock
it out of her hands

and then saws the body in
half while blood sprays

up, like, onto the
light bulb in the room,

just like casting the
entire thing bright red.

And it has this gonzo
energy that few other movies

ever made managed to have.

[demonic laugh]

RICKY: I feel so
bad for what happens

to Ash throughout
that movie, but I

have so much fun watching it.

He's such a great
crier to the heavens.

[laughs]

[CRYING] Get me back my hand.

RICKY: Every time something
horrible happens in that movie,

he just, like,
falls on his knees

and cries to the
heaven asking why, why.

You just feel for him
so much, you know.

[groaning]

Who's laughing now?

I think Evil Dead II is so funny

because it's just constantly
surprising and inventive.

All of the work that
they do with the hand,

with the chainsaw, with the
various zombies that show up,

how they show up,
the sort of subject

use of the camera,
where it's really

barreling along through the
woods at 100 miles an hour.

And you don't know where
it's going to end up.

And you're kind of the
bad guy for a moment.

And then, like, to get a
joke out of it, at one point,

Demon doesn't know where Ash is.

It's just kind of
like looks around,

like, where did that dude go?

I'll be back, dawg.

I'll be back.

And just pulls right
back out of there.

The masterwork of Evil
Dead II is the combination

of Raimi's cinematic genius and
Bruce's physical comic prowess.

I mean, I don't think it's
overstating it to say.

Like, it works like a
Buster Keaton movie.

It works like any classic
film involving a kind

of theatrical performance.

But then you have this
extremely sophisticated,

modern, cinematic approach.

It's a masterful combination
of kinetic camera

work with kinetic performance.

[demonic laughter]

PATRICK: Unsurprisingly,
given my love of Evil Dead II,

I really love Dead Alive.

TED: Dead Alive is
a splatstick movie.

It's essentially
Raimi up to 100,

and it goes so over the top.

It's never not funny.

There's like a glee to
that movie of just like

what he's getting away with.

Taking, like, what is on paper
a horror story, but just, like,

cranking every element
way up until it

reaches like these insane
cartoonish levels and just

becomes funny.

Oh!

I just mowed the lawn.

Does this look like a
well-maintained frontage?

TED: You have this
really twisted

mother-and-son
relationship that's

kind of at the
heart of the movie,

and it sort of deals
that sort of, like,

not being able to cut the
purse strings, you might say.

But it keeps getting
worse and worse and worse.

Oh!

Oh.

[yelling]

Mom.

The protagonist mother has
been bitten, and she's infected.

And she's slowly turning into
a kind of a zombie creature.

And they're having
this little meal.

And she's eating this kind of
disgusting-looking custard.

And her ears slowly
falling apart

and falls into the custard.

And her earring
gets stuck in there.

And she keeps eating.

And she's just completely
oblivious to it.

It's just so, so gross.

[chuckles]

TRACEY: And then when
the infection just

grows to everybody in
her circle, it just...

it's one of the grossest
movies I think I ever saw right

off the bat, but it's
also one of the most

funniest movies you've ever
seen right off the bat.

HOWARD: I just loved
the last half hour.

I don't think I've ever
seen anything even like it

since then.

It's like a ballet of
bodies being Cuisinarted.

At the time, I think
there probably was just

the wettest movie ever made.

I mean, the amount of fluid that
gets dumped all over the cast

in that movie, it outdoes
the first Evil Dead.

It's so choreographed.

It's like a musical.

It's like lavish dance numbers.

It's just brilliant,
brilliant movie.

[high-pitched laugh]

JOE: Stuart Gordon's
e-Animator, well, it's probably

the best Lovecraft adaptation.

It's certainly the funniest.

It's absolutely
the most f*cked up.

[growls]

That was one that I think
kicked out a lot of doors.

It was unrated.

No one under 17 admitted.

And it showed just
how far you could

go with the mixture
of comedy and horror

and gore, but also have a really
smart, well-crafted, well-acted

film as well.

MAN: Didn't we
meet this morning?

- You're... - West.
Herbert West.

Jeffrey Combs
plays Herbert West,

and he's up to
some secret stuff.

He has discovered a
special serum that

brings the dead back to life.

Stop.

I'll show you.

They start off by using it
on our main character's cat,

but that goes awry.

And soon enough, they're
using it on humans, including

one of their professors.

Your theory on the location
of the will and the brain is

interesting, though derivative
of Dr. Gruber's research

in the early '70s.

So derivative, in
fact, that in Europe,

it's considered plagiarized.

Dr. West and Dr. Hill are
two sides of the same coin.

Perhaps it take...

CHELSEA: That's what makes them
such good foils for each other.

They are both kind of married
to science in a sense,

but they have very different
relationships with it.

I will be famous.

DANA: So much of Re-Animator
is just Jeffrey Combs.

Plagiarist.

DANA: He is so much
intensity, and those eyes

are always working.

That performance takes
that movie to a place

where it shouldn't be.

[laughing]

DANA: And then there
are scenes in that movie

that go places where you
can't imagine they're going.

You know what I'm talking about.

MICHAEL: You're just sitting
there going, what am I watching?

Who thought this up?

This is insane.

And yet it is all of
a piece of the story.

It follows from what we
know about the characters

and Dr. Hill's lust for
Barbara Crampton's character.

And it just takes it
to the ultimate level.

Gordon wanted to take us
places we had not gone before.

[yelling]

You know, he wanted to
upend our normal expectations

for a horror film
or for a comedy,

and he never did
it more brilliantly

than he did in Re-Animator.

[projector whirring]

The end of the world is
going to happen, you jerks,

while you are sitting on your
asses watching your television.

[g*nsh*t]

[groaning]

No!

Oh my god!

To be or not to be.

That is the question.

[yelling]

Hell is a teenage girl.

Please don't
demonetize me with it.

This is an intense situation.

Hey, get away from
that record press.

DRACMORDA: I think what makes a
camp horror movie is when you're

at a theater and the crowd is
just laughing and wincing back

and forth at the same time.

When I see a movie like
that, I know that I'm

in a camp horror movie.

Just look at me.

I'm soaking wet.

Camp is hard enough to
define, let alone be fluent in.

And I think Akela
Cooper, who wrote Megan,

understands how to write camp.

Now, when Megan
is revealed, I don't

want to see any blank faces.

DRACMORDA: Megan.

What's not to love?

She's gorgeous.

Her hair is flawless.

Her skin is flawless.

And whoever came up
with that dance, I mean,

they need to get a
raise because that dance

put a chokehold on everyone.

I think the dance scene
alone makes it a camp classic.

CHELSEA: Megan is about a toy
developer played by Allison

Williams, who unexpectedly ends
up getting custody of her niece

after her sister and
brother-in-law die

in an accident.

And she is having such a hard
time connecting with this girl.

She ends up inventing this
life-sized doll named...

ALLISON: Model three
generative Android.

Megan for short.

And kind of introduces
her niece to Megan to help

her niece with her grief.

Shall we draw?

And so the doll
and her niece develop

this very toxic friendship.

I love it.

MAN: I want you all to
remember this moment,

the moment we kicked
Hasbro right in the d*ck.

EMILY: There's just
something really

fun about a campy horror
movie that sets up the premise

really well.

It's like we know this doll
is going to be a bad idea.

There's no doubt about what
the end result of this idea

is going to be.

But then like the
twists and turns of it,

the jump scares,
the sort of slow

build up psychologically
of what's going on,

it just is very knowing but
done in a very skillful way.

We'd have to shut her down.

Jeez!

That's great.
That was great.

I personally wouldn't want
a Megan doll in my house.

Even before she goes bad, her
whole design is unnerving.

Like, those eyes are just a
little bit too big that, like,

perfect smirk.

I can see how, as a kid, it
would be cool to have a robot

friend that's like your
size that does everything

that you want.

WOMAN: If you make a toy
that's impossible to let go of,

then how do you ever
expect a child to grow?

It's just that when it
goes bad, it goes really bad.

[tires screeching]

SWANTHULA: The best camp is
delivered straight-faced.

Did you hurt someone?

God, I hope not.

Because if I did, we'd both
be in a lot of trouble.

SWANTHULA: So Megan is
giving her performances.

And everything that she's
saying, it's so out there,

but she says it dead serious.

If heaven exists, it wouldn't
be for boys like Brandon,

would it?

SWANTHULA: And I
think that's where

the comedy just hits
just the right tone,

and people really tap into that.

It was horror camp
at its best, I think.

I have a new friend
who are user now.

Me.

NATHANIEL: Addams
Family values the movie

that proves that the sequel
can outdo its predecessor when

it comes to horror comedies.

Oh.

And what's this?

Mom.

I think the secret sauce
with Addams Family values

is, well, two things.

First of all, they
realized what a treasure

they had in Christina Ricci.

And so they built
an entire subplot

around her, justifiably so.

And then you introduce John
Cusack as a serial k*ller.

Hi.

Addams residence.

Ooh, it's old.

One of my favorite serial
K*llers in film history,

I think.
- Are you the mom?

I am Mrs. Addams.

I love your dress.

It's so tight.

But she is so
unhinged in this film

that she is playing just
this outright psychopath

who's just murdering men for
their money left and right.

Bachelors, beware.

Debbie.

I'll think of when I think of

Addams Family values is Debbie,

and I love Debbie.

Number one.

Like, I feel like Marilyn
Munster crawled so Debbie could

run all the way to
Addams Family values

and just like make
everybody fall in love.

I'm good with my hands.

Debbie was kind
of a drag queen too.

She was so over the top and
the hair and everything,

and her practicing her
lines in the car definitely

inspired my drag, I'll say.

I was never a crazy
fan of the Addams Family

because to me, it
was always just

the same joke being told over.

It's raining what a lovely
day, let's have a picnic.

[snores]

But the stroke of genius
in Addams Family values

was they put the
kids in summer camp,

and they gave the kids
something to play against.

Hey, listen up, everybody.

I'm Gary Granger!

And I'm Becky Martin Granger!

DANA: And they made the Addams
Family the sane ones, as

compared to the people in camp.

We're the owners and
directors here at Camp Chippewa!

And we're all here
to learn, to grow,

and to just plain have fun!

Because that's what being
privileged is all about!

[applause]

JUSTINA: Wednesday and Pugsley,
they were just being them.

They didn't want to be a part
of this superficial stupidity,

and the best example of that
is the Thanksgiving play.

That was perfect.

Of all the popular
kids are the pilgrims,

and all the misfits
and quote, unquote,

"losers," are the Indians.

And what we see with
Wednesday playing

Pocahontas is she's not
going to take pilgrim crap

because she explains
bluntly what has happened

to Indigenous Americans.

You have taken the land,
which is rightfully ours.

And how they wind up suffering
at the hands of colonization.

Years from now,
my people will be

forced to live in mobile
homes, on reservations.

We will sell our bracelets
by the roadsides.

You will play golf and
enjoy hot hors d'oeuvres.

So basically, to hell
with it, set it all on fire.

[yelling]

They really took the Charles
Addams's sense of humor,

like, just, they went with it.

Like, you didn't really
question the logic of it.

But I mean, she basically
kills half the summer camp

and presumably kills her
boyfriend in the very last shot

too.

It ends with him screaming,
and she's smiling.

And it's, like, OK,
so she k*lled him.

KATE: When we talk
about horror comedies,

the only one that counts
in my mind is Beetlejuice.

And I'm only going to
say it once because I

do believe he'd show up.

You have to give
us the Beetlejuice,

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice,
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.

[laughter]

It's showtime.

KATE: It's an achievement
in world building

that I haven't
seen since, maybe.

The character design, the home
design, the comedy, the terror,

the things we all
still remember,

like the huge open mouth
and the eyes and sighed,

or the woman who's half and
half with her legs crossed.

Obviously, the Tim Burton
style is fantastic.

SWANTHULA: Tim Burton was able
to take some material that

was really freakish and
really otherworldly,

and make it acceptable
and comedic.

And you know, you could
watch that with your family,

and nobody flinched at it.

But the subject matter
was so gruesome.

It's interesting how
he was able to do that.

[yelling]

My god.

We just have to
pray the other closets

are bigger than this one.

That movie's all about
G*ntrification to me.

[chuckles] The Maitlands
live in that house.

They do not want to
leave that house.

That is where they
are at their happiest.

They don't want anything
huge or fancy around them.

They just love their
quaintest little spot.

Maybe this is heaven.

RICKY: And then here come these
rich-a*s people who show up,

and they're, like, you know
what would be dope here?

We just tear this idea
of normalcy that you have

and just throw money at it.

Let's just throw
money at it, and that

will make everything better.

That will make everybody happy.

This is my art,
and it is dangerous.

Do you think I want
to die like this?

And it's just, like, nah, dawg.

That's not what we want.

You got to say my
name three times.

When we're dealing with the
supernatural or the horrific,

we need to have boundaries,
firm boundaries,

so we know how it works.

Say it once.

Say it twice.

Third time's a charm.

And Beetlejuice sets
out those rules so

cleanly that it's become part
of the vernacular of everybody

who talks about movies,
that Beetlejuice,

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.

OK, we're fine.

And so the rule building
is really excellent there.

It's a great structural
tool used over

and over again in that story.

Michael Keaton is Beetlejuice.

- What?
- Excuse me.

Really goes for it.

We're going to have some laughs.

But everybody plays
it larger than life,

just like the story
and the aesthetic of it

is larger than life.

Everything in the performances
is a little bit bigger as well.

If you don't let me gut out
this house and make it my own,

I will go and say, and
I will take you with me!

I remember wanting to be every
single person in that movie.

Uh, to be Lydia Deetz.

SWANTHULA: I think
in Lydia Deetz,

we have a character that tons
of horror fans can relate to.

I could live here.

SWANTHULA: Because
they're an outsider.

They're artistic.

They move around
a lot and lonely.

Maybe not too many friends.

My whole life is a dark room.

One big dark room.

SWANTHULA: I do
think a lot of people

that love horror can
see themselves in Lydia.

Did you see yourself in Lydia?

A little bit, because I,
too, am strange and unusual.

NATHANIEL: [laughs]

Yeah, I guess Lydia was like
the first goth queen, right?

She married a demon.

How much more
gothic can you get?

Oh, what a perfect film.

[yelling]

[clanking]

DAVID: One of those films
that if you haven't seen,

I'm begging you to find
immediately and put on, have

a glass of Burgundy or whatever
you imbibe, and sit back

and watch Robert Fuest's
The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

HOWARD: Dr. Phibes is
definitely a product of its era

and more so of
where it was made.

It was definitely a British
film and its sense of humor.

A brass unicorn
has been catapulted

across a London street and
impaled an eminent surgeon.

HOWARD: It was erudite, and
at the same time, low brow.

Easy, does it?

I think it's a left-hand thread.

Is it is?

[door creaking]

DAVID: I think a lot of
people look at it as just

a goofy, weird technicolor
kind of psychedelic comedy,

but it's one of my
favorite pieces,

especially from that era.

You've got a man
who's in mourning.

I am already dead.

Broken by the loss of
the love of his life.

MAN [ON PHONE]: Nine k*lled her.

Nine shall die.

In what he believes was
malpractice by the doctors

who were trying to help her.

You m*rder*d her.

No.

m*rder*d her.

DAVID: So he has looked as
all good vengeful K*llers

do to a wonderful source
of inspiration for m*rder...

the Bible.

And he has plucked the
great plagues as inspiration

for his vengeance.

It has some of the most
bizarre murders you'll

ever see in a horror film.

The curse of the locusts.

A curse of hail.

I am not one of
those horror hounds

who is cheering on the monster.

I'm a psychiatrist, actually.

Head shrinker.

DAVID: But I am 100% on
Vincent Price's side,

as he goes about this very
creative, very artistic

way of offing his enemies.

And the police
are so inept that it

also makes it even more funny.

Any more news on
this fellow Feebs?

The Phibes, sir.

Are you in the
habit of contradicting

your superiors, Bream?

DANA: Vincent Price knew
who he was, was not afraid

of making fun of himself,
and was having a great time,

and it's really fun
to watch, and the way

that he has to plug that thing
into his neck to articulate.

The man utters not a word
of dialogue through his mouth.

It is all done through
expression and with this wildly

cool makeup on when
you reveal what's

underneath the construction
of his disguise.

It's such a powerful film
because the world that it

transports you into is so
well-ex*cuted through production

design, through
lighting, through color,

the way it's
dressed and painted,

and all the wardrobe and makeup.

Really funny movie,
but also incredibly

tragic and totally perversely
entertaining as a horror film.

It was kind of creepy and
scary at the same time.

Dr. Phibes is a fever dream.

DAVID: I think it is master
cinema on the highest level.

[projector whirring]

[yelling]

Oh, I kick a*s for the Lord!

We got a job to do.

Let's do it.
And keep quiet, OK?

Styrofoam cup?

Everything was
fine with our system

until the power grid was
shut off by dickless here.

They caused an expl*si*n.

Is this true?

Yes, it's true.

This man has no d*ck.

Are you saying that I put
an abnormal brain into a 7-

and 1/2-foot long,


What?

[YELLING] Is that
what you're telling me?

[power saw whirring]

[clinks]

Groovy.

[yelling]

Abbott and Costello
Meet Frankenstein.

Well, first of all, it's
the silliest film ever made,

you know.

And it's having so
much fun being silly.

Don't you know what's
going to happen now?

I'll bite.

Oh, no.

I will.

MAN: I guess it was the end of
the universal monster cycle.

They had made so many
Frankenstein movies,

so many Dracula movies,
so many mummy movies.

They didn't know what was left
but to turn it into a comedy.

STEVE: I mean, Costello
play shipping clerks.

Answer that phone.

Answer the bell!

[phone ringing]

Answer the phone!

Which one do you want
me to answer first?

Both of them.

Hold the line, please.

Thank you.

And two of the things
that they have to deal with

turn out to be
Frankenstein in his box.

Wow!

STEVE: And Dracula
in his coffin.

And Dracula actually brings
Frankenstein back to life.

Master.

Yeah.

They want Costello's brain
to transfer into Frankenstein,

to give him a calmer brain.

There you go.

I mean, what more
plot do you need?

I wonder if Dracula's
really in there.

It's kind of a unique
case in Hollywood

because that's where your
characters really understood

that they were inside
a horror franchise

and that there was an
audience for these films.

I know there's no such
a person as Dracula.

You know there's no such
a person as Dracula.

But, does Dracula know it?

And there were certain boxes
that had to be checked in order

to make your audience happy.

And what's amazing is
that it works as a comedy.

And it still works
as a horror film.

If you watch it and you're
a fan of the Wolfman,

you get exactly
what you came for.

You get a great
transformation scene.

You get tall but running
around, you know,

causing all this
mayhem, covered in fur.

[growling]

That's my conversation,
a guy growls like a wolf.

And you get some good
Frankenstein action.

And you get some Dracula.

I mean, you get everything.

You even get a little bit
invisible man at the end.

[man laughing]

DANA: Kevin Costello were
not great film comedians.

They were vaudeville comedians.

They were only as
good as their gags.

This movie happened to
have a ton of great ones.

It's also Abbott Costello,
like, right in the pocket,

where they were just so funny.

And their go-to jokes
weren't, like, stale yet.

If you want me just holler.

Holler oh, Chick.

You understand?
- Oh, Chick!

What do you want?
- What kept you?

JONAH RAY: And so it
gives Costello just

like these opportunities
to be scared.

Chick!

JONAH RAY: There's like
nothing better because that's

what he's so good at.

[WHISPERING] Chick.

Chick.

Chick.

Chick.

NATHANIEL: And a lot
of horror spoofs.

It's almost like, well, it's
a down market franchise.

And so we're just
kind of going to goof

around and make fun of it.

But this one doesn't do that.

It really loves the genre, and
it embraces it at the same time.

Not unlike The
Ghost and Mr Chicken,

a great haunted house movie that
should not be as funny as it is.

But it's just great gag after
great gag after great gag

after great gag.

To me, that first night in
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,

there are more scary moments
in that than in The Shining,

front to back.

[music playing]

But.

[piano playing]

RYAN: Fright Night is my
favorite horror movie of all.

That's the first horror movie
I ever saw in a theater.

And I was scared because
it's called Fright Night.

But what it taught me was,
horror can also be funny.

Yeah!

[giggling]

Fright Night came
out in 1985, and it's

kind of a twist on rear window.

It's about this teenage
boy, Charley Brewster,

who becomes convinced that
his neighbor, Jerry Dandrige,

is a vampire.

And nobody believes him.

He's a vampire.

A what?

A what?

A vampire.

Damn it, haven't you listened
to anything I've said?

He's got a love interest
that Jerry starts to covet.

And the more he kind
of investigates,

the more he puts his
friends into trouble.

It's a horror story.

It's a comedy, but it's also
a story about protecting

the person that you love.

And you know, being a teenager
and the adults not believing you.

What's he doing here?

I invited him over.

Why?

What's the matter, Charlie?

Afraid I'd never come over
without being invited first.

[laughs]

So there's a lot of
elements and layers to it.

Charlie, Peter Vincent's on.

TOM: The minute I had the
idea of Peter Vincent,

I couldn't wait to get
home and write the script.

Really?

TOM: I wrote it
really quick and I

was laying on the floor
laughing hysterically

as I wrote the scenes
because some of them

were really funny, because the
ea that I had for Fright Night

was intrinsically humorous.

MAN [ON TV]: There are a
lot of people who do not

believe in vampires, but I do.

TOM: Well, it all
comes down to what

a horror fan kid who's
watching the Friday Night

Frights, which is what I did.

If there was a vampire next
door, what would he do?

Mr. Vincent.

TOM: He'd go to whoever
the horror host was

of the Friday Night Frights.

I believe in vampires.

I have one living
next door to me.

Would you help me k*ll him?

Pardon me?

Humor is great in horror
if you have building suspense

and if you do have scares
because it gives an audience

a chance to let the
terror go, which

sets them up for the next
even worse scary part.

Hello, everyone.

Chris Sarandon's vampire was
probably the first time I was

actually afraid of a vampire.

I got that combination of
sort of the sensual allure

that the mom sees in him but the
fear that her son sees in him.

And both of those
things are true.

He's hot, and he's very scary.

And I was, like, I get it.

I finally get vampires.

I get what people are
attracted to about vampires.

I'm g*y, and I'd certainly come

out to myself at that point.

But that was kind of one of the
movies that was safe to kind

of watch with my friends
because the relationship

between the vampire
and his familiar

was a little h*m*,
but not over the top

that people would be, like, why
are you watching this stuff for?

So you know, you take
what you can get when

you're at that time and place.

Like, two days before
I'm sh**ting, I get a call.

You can't have this ending.

And the ending I
had was that Charlie

and Amy are back
in his bedroom, and

they're making out on the bed.

And they're looking at
Peter Vincent on the screen.

And as Peter Vincent
is talking, he

starts to turn into a vampire.

And I thought it was a
hell of a cliffhanger.

And I said, you can't do that.

You've got to have
a happy ending.

So I gave him the happy ending,
and the rest is history.

[laughing]

In the summer of


came out that shocked and
horrified parents to the point

that the ratings board
had to change the ratings

and create a new rating, PG 13.

And those two movies were...

[yelling]

DANA:... Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom and Gremlins.

[SINGING] Christmas

JOE: Gremlins is the
classic Joe Dante film.

It's an absolute masterpiece
of Christmas horror.

Kate, what are
you doing in there?

Don't ask.

It's tremendously funny.

[squirting]

I'll never forget watching
gremlins in a theater

because I was 10 years old,
and we thought we were in store

for, like, ET Part Two.

Hey, Dr. Morell.

Morning, Billy.

MICHAEL: No, it
starts like this very

magical Amblin-style,
boy-meets-creature kind of movie.

Has it got a name, Dad?

Mogwai.

Cute.

And then it just goes to
hell in the best way possible.

What's going on here?

You know, there's some things
I forgot to tell you guys,

and they're really important.

GIGI: In the world of
gremlins, they set you

up with the three main rules...

keep it away from lights,
don't get it wet...

Great.

Thanks a lot.

And don't feed
it after midnight.

On the hatch.

Get out of the house.

Setting up a movie
like that right away,

you know you're only in
for a ride, because you

know those three
rules are going to be

broken over and over again.

And I'll never forget
the audience's reaction

as the sh*t hits the fan.

[grimlin squealing]

MICHAEL: And the cute
and cuddly Mogwai's

evolve into these,
like, reptilian

sharp-toothed,
clawed creatures that

are attempting to k*ll a mom.

[grunting]

MICHAEL: Or taking out the
school of science teacher.

[yells]

What the hell is going on?

GIGI: Between Gremlins
and Gremlins 2.

[yelling]

GIGI: You put the
two movies together,

and it's easily over 230 kills.

I mean, it's fantastic.

What better family
movie could you ask for?

[laughing]

HOWARD: This is what
is classic cinema.

You don't expect these things.

Someone has to go in a
direction that no one

either thought of going before.

[yelling]

HOWARD: Or was told not
to, like a naughty boy.

Joe Dante, he did his job.

He screwed some
kids up back then.

[gremlin laughing]

[thunderclaps]

[projector whirring]

No!

Hurry!
Help me!

Help!

Hey, Mister.

The only thing that concerns
me is the preservation of life!

Some of our clothes
are from victims.

You might bite someone,
and then you see,

ooh, those are some nice pants.

[yelling]

JONAH RAY: Shaun of the
Dead is like one of the best

zombie movies ever made.

It's also just happens to be one
of the best comedies ever made.

ALEX: There are few times
when you see a film,

and you just think somebody
has arrived, like, with

their own style totally intact.

And I want to see
everything they do forever.

And so I think
Edgar Wright kind of

has his own place in
this pantheon beyond just

horror comedy.

It's almost balletic.

It really comes out
of a very specific

style of British filmmaking.

Something that Edgar Wright
did absolutely perfectly

was to mirror the
mundaneness of being in a rut

and going to a job that you
just go through the motions.

You got red on you.

CHAD: That opening
is just phenomenal,

the shot-for-shot match from
the normal day of going to work.

And then, also...

Hey.

You did.

CHAD:... the zombie apocalypse
happening around you, and not

noticing the difference.

Nelson.

You know, all hell's breaking
loose in the background,

and they're just going
about their business.

They have absolutely no
idea what's going on.

That's probably the biggest, I
think, influence that it's had.

We've seen that in
many horror comedies

since then, where
people are just,

like, da da da da da, like,
you know, gabbing away,

and then horrible things are
happening right behind them.

This guy's going
through a breakup,

so he's more concerned with that
than he is with the zombies.

And so the zombies always
pose an actual threat.

There is always this kind
of scary element to it,

and it's the characters reaction
to that which can be funny.

Dibi dibi dibi dibi di.

Ooh.

Dibi dibi dibi dibi dibi di.

Ooh.

One of the things that really
works about Shaun of the Dead

is those relationships
feel so real...

the stepfather that
you've never bonded

with, the girlfriend that
you're constantly disappointing.

That's how you know my name?

Yeah.

Smooth.

I'm sorry, Shaun.

TANANARIVE: The friend you can't
quite pull yourself away from.

Oh!

[laughs] Oh my
god, that's wrong.

I will stop doing them
when you start laughing.

TANANARIVE: They feel
like real characters,

and that's the key to
creating real horror.

That's why the horror works,
is because the characters

are so strong.

That movie is so
much fun and so funny.

For 2/3 of the film, it's a
comedy with horror elements.

I think that for me.

TED: And as soon as
they reach the bar...

[bell tolling]

...it becomes a horror
movie with comedy elements.

That final act
just kicks your a*s

because you don't expect it to
be as scary and as upsetting

as it is because you've
just gone on this silly joy

ride with these characters.

And all of a sudden,
you've got major characters

getting torn limb from limb.

You've got major
characters dying,

and the stakes suddenly
just, like, explode.

Come on, what's wrong?

I didn't want to be a bother.

MICHAEL: When Shaun's
mother gets infected

and they have to decide
what to do about her,

that's played straight, and it's
played for drama and emotion.

And because the characters have
been set up so well, it works.

And you have this unexpectedly
moving moment in the midst

of all this comedic craziness.

I never thanked you.

For what?

For these.

The callbacks are incredible.

I'm sorry, Shaun.

JONAH RAY: The lines that come
back and mirror each other

from the beginning to the end.

Oh, god!

[chuckles] That's not funny.

Stop doing it when
you stop laughing.

I'm not laughing.

JONAH RAY: It's just so tightly
done and so amazingly done

that you can't deny it.

It's just a perfect movie.

[siren wailing]

TED: Return of the Living Dead
is the feature directorial debut

of Dan O'Bannon,
who we previously

knew from having written Alien
and countless other weird,

mostly sci-fi stuff.

Brains.

TED: What a way to
come out swinging.

[yelling]

Like, my feature directorial
debut is this, like, holy sh*t.

I would have k*lled
for that to have been

my first film as a director.

How do you k*ll something
that's already dead?

Well, how do I know, Fred?
I don't know.

Let me think.

It's not a bad question, Burt.

As soon as it starts off, you
have this great rapport between

these blue-collar workers.

These are split dogs.

Yep, for veterinarian schools.

Oh, we got a lot of
orders for split dogs.

That's pretty rad.
- Yeah.

[growls]

Don't fool around
you're learning.

NATHANIEL: And then
he accidentally opened

this canister and just unleashed
what is ultimately going

to be probably the apocalypse.

What the f*ck?

Jesus H Christ.

NATHANIEL: But the film, it
always just has this very kind

of fun, bouncy tone to it.

There's hundreds of
those things out there.



Stupid as*h*le.

Watch your tongue, boy,
if you like this job!

Like this job?

But with Return
of the Living Dead,

it's like you also
get one of the best

punk rock movies of the '80s.

They have the different
types of punks.

You have the gutter
punk with the mohawk.

You have the more New Wave guy.

There's just such
amazing classic lines.

No.

He got a job.
What a d*ck!

Oh, great, here's
your friend and mine.

Hey, f*ck you, ball buster.

You think this is
a f*cking costume?

This is a way of life.

There's enough of that kind
of stuff that is so great,

leading into just all
of them getting offed.

NATHANIEL: First,
Linnea Quigley is

one of the all-time
iconic horror characters.

The way she delivers her
lines before she transforms,

it's still hysterically funny.

Do you ever wonder about all
the different ways of dying,

you know, violently?

Every character is so vivid.

How was your day?

Usual crap.

are you crazy?

Are you on PCP?

Give me the bone saw.

NATHANIEL: And it's a horror
movie, where you actually

care about the characters.
You know they're all screwed.

You've seen zombie movies.

You know, they're probably not
going to make it to the end,

but you just enjoy
hanging out with them.

I just want to party.

JONAH RAY: You using
running zombies

and talking zombies,
which is something that I

would normally be very against.

But with this,
it's like they use

it just to keep the energy up.

[yelling]

JONAH RAY: The fastness
of the zombies,

like, really lends itself
to just being exciting

the entire time.

JONAH RAY: Like, I can't
think of a better example,

if you saw it as a kid,
you'd think it's horrific.

[yelling]

And then as an adult, yeah,
it's like you're just having

the best time of your life.

That's what makes
Return of Living Dead

the most perfect horror comedy.

Can I have a piece of toast?

There are three or four ways
to do horror comedy correctly,

and there are 300 or


An American Werewolf in London
is to me the slam dunk of here's

how you do a horror comedy.

It has everything
you want it to have.

NATHANIEL: It's about


[yelling]



Holy sh*t.

And the lead
character, you know,

he's doomed, basically,
after the first 10

minutes of the movie.

Take your life, David.

k*ll yourself.

NATHANIEL: Which the
movie never forgets.

I'm a f*cking werewolf,
for Christ's sake!

Snarl.

NATHANIEL: And I
think the humor,

it sort of distracts you
from that a little bit.

Thank you.

NATHANIEL: I mean, when
you have him running

naked through the park
with the balloons,

you know, and the
little kids response.

A naked American
man stole my balloon.

What?

NATHANIEL: Stuff
like that is great.

[yells]

But it's not really the
engine that drives the movie.

You're not real.

I don't be a putz, David.

CHAD: How is this
decomposition of my best friend

who keeps haunting
me in my dreams

something that is entertaining?

And I think it just
because they're calling

out each other's bullshit.

You're one of the
undead, and I'm a werewolf.

Yes, that's right.

I will not be threatened
by a walking meatloaf.

Oh, god damn it, David.

Please believe me.

It's about just seeing
behind the curtain saying,

like, just stop the act.

And like, you are right now
the trouble for everybody

else right now.

You need to be aware of that.

Jesus Christ!

RICKY: Seeing that werewolf
transformation scene...

Oh, God!

RICKY: As the first time, I ever
felt sorry for somebody, like,

going through that experience.

Just feel so bad for him.

The amount of sweat
that's happening

from the pain of the
transformation, it's visceral

watching his hand
just grow like that.

It's, like, oh my god,
it's painful, you know.

You help me!

[groaning]

And when he does
turn into the werewolf,

that empathy goes away.

He's a monster.

[growling]

Then you're just feeling
empathy for the people

that he k*lled.

Did you hear something?

Just now?
- Yes.

No.

RICKY: And then the
subway sequence.

[growling]

Good Lord, what the hell.

RICKY: Oh, my goodness.

To this day, to this day,
always do look around.

Once he turns into the werewolf,

the comedy pretty much ends.

That whole Piccadilly
circus free

for all that ensues
with the werewolf,

some people find it hilarious.
I think it's pretty horrifying.

I mean, it's just
nonstop carnage.

[snarling]

[yelling]

David?

Is it you?

NATHANIEL: Jenny Agutter
has this look of pure sorrow

on her face that
she made this one

last ditch attempt to save him.

Please let me help you.

NATHANIEL: And she fails.

[g*nshots]

It kind of just stabs
you in the heart,

and you don't realize
it did it for a minute.

You're just, like, whoa, what?

SAM: I think an important
tenet of monster movies

is the tragedy and the fact
at American Werewolf in London

is as funny as it is, and still
finds its way to that ending.

That abrupt no-hope-for-David
ending is incredible.

Life mocks me even in death.

[snarls]

[projector whirring]

[laughter]

You'll never get
credit for my discovery.

Who's going to believe a talking
head get a job in a sideshow?

Oh!

[giggling]

MAN: Now, imagine
what a toy like Megan

could do for
hundreds of thousands

of kids, even the ones who
don't have dead parents?

MAN: I am all ready dead.

Nice f*cking model!

WOMAN: Beetlejuice,
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Oh, you're so cool, Brewster.

[laughs]

MAN: I approve very
highly of your choice.

[giggling]

BARBARA [ON PHONE]: I
don't want to cause a fuss.

We're coming to
get you, Barbara.

Same attacks.

The undead surround me.

Do you ever talk to a corpse?

It's boring.

[eerie music]

What are the must-see
Stephen King adaptations?

Here's Johnny.

There's some that I think
really work and some that don't.

When you're adapting
Stephen King,

the story is
the most important thing.

♪

And there's always
a darkness to it.

The ice is gonna break.

Paul: Annie, please!

♪

[eerie music]

Bad for the environment.