While doing my part in celebrating everyone’s favorite fear-fueled season, I stumbled across another gem from Joko Anwar’s catalog. The religious horror movie Grave Torture, which mostly had me silent and holding my breath due to the scares, but there was one scene in particular that had me cracking up with laughter. A woman somehow gets her hair caught in a dryer then turns it on and goes for a spin. I don’t want to spoil things, but let’s say she ends up losing more than her hair, and it gets gory. As soon as the scene finished I couldn’t stop laughing. I ended up posting a clip of my reaction and a bunch of friends shared the same sentiment. What was so funny about this woman losing her life this way? Did that make us Dexter Morgan Reincarnated for finding it funny, especially when this wasn’t a comedic film?

It’s Okay To Have Fun

We’ve all heard that Horror and Comedy hit similar beats when it comes to getting a reaction out of the audience. When Art The Clown gets his head chopped off or is the one doing the chopping, we laugh because the character is having fun, which also puts us in a silly mood. The more outrageous the scenario, the better the chance we have to laugh at it. Yes, the victims on screen are screaming bloody murder, and there’s more blood on the floor than your half-used bottle of Clorox in the closet can handle, but the killer is enjoying every second, reminiscent of a kid let loose in a Toys “R” Us on their birthday. You’re told not to enjoy the suffering of others, but when it’s on screen and the killer has charm, it’s hard not to partake. The Dream Demon himself, Freddy Krueger, sets the tone in all of his nightmares that it’s okay to chuckle at the macabre you see, and if you try to resist, he’ll throw in a few jokes to bring it out of you. When the audience is given permission to let go, we get to see what raw reactions come up. It’s the same reason if you catch a Child’s Play film in theaters, there are more laughs at the actual kills than there are the jokes. Pointing at the absurdness of a doll choking a 200lb man to death and dragging his body away so no one sees the crime scene is normal. Of course, if this happened in real life, it’d be horrific, but from the safety of your recliner, it’s peak comedy because if that were you….you could take him, right?

Audience’s Expectations Of Characters

We see so many scenarios in film where people make what we would deem stupid and costly mistakes, and there’s something about being vocal about it in a theater full of people. I remember watching 2004’s Dawn Of The Dead for the first time, ready to be terrified. To my surprise a good 60% of the movie had the audience roaring, laughing and vocally judging the characters. So many were yelling comically what they would do if their zombie spouse were on their tail. None of us can truly know unless put in that situation, but it doesn’t stop us from feeling that way, which adds a comedic aspect to it because the mousiest of us can pretend we’re lions in the description of our path. Yelling at the screen for the character to run faster, only for them to trip 5 seconds later and get hacked to death, makes for a hilarious time whether you’ve been drinking or not. With a group of friends telling the character not to drink that, and they drink it anyway, only to fall victim to an acid death where their throat falls out of their neck is a riot, especially depending on the props used.

The Lower The Budget The Funnier The Scene

Going to Blockbuster and taking chances on the independent films of the early 2000s was a damn good time with my dad. We’d pick out the worst movie covers possible and give them a try. Whenever a gunshot would be dubbed over and replaced with someone clapping their hands or someone’s obviously mannequin leg was thrown across the screen while the victim was screaming in pain had us rolling everytime. I think it’s because we recognize that the folks behind the scenes were having fun and we can laugh along with them. Mimicking how we think the conversations behind the scenes might have gone when in production was part of the fun. Not to make fun of their efforts but to cheer on their passion in hopes that we get more in the not so distant future. One of my favorite films, The Evil Dead, has demons that ooze what looks like colored oatmeal in some scenes, which cracks me up, getting a reaction every time I show it to someone new.

Acting Out

Most of the time, when watching someone get mutilated, we may feel sympathy or fear for who may be next. The series From did a great job of this for their season 3 opener and had everybody in a chokehold for a couple of weeks over the aftermath. It’s the actor’s job to convey what the character is feeling on screen in the best way they know, even if it means sewing your nose back on after a psycho clown chops it off with a machete. Sometimes that isn’t always the case though, and you may have someone who can’t emote in any way other than comedy, which causes the audience to laugh. If I don’t believe your face when the werewolf is tearing your stomach open for his next meal, and you’re screaming like the love of your life just cheated on you in an episode of Days Of Our Lives, then I’m gonna chuckle all the way through. It’s why Scream Queens throughout history get their names respected forever in cinema because they sold it to us.

Embracing The Fear

Many of us don’t know how to process fear in the moment so it may come out as laughter. If a fuse blows out and I’m fumbling in the dark to get it back on, I start sweating. To cure that fear, I joke to the possible spirits accompanying me on my journey, hoping that my humor may save me from being pushed into the pits of hell. Others may not want to admit when something makes them nervous especially when on screen so to laugh and make fun is the next best option. The next time you’re laughing at a scary movie hit the pause button for a few seconds and ask yourself if what you saw was truly funny….or are you just too afraid to feel the fear?