Episode 134: What’s So Funny?

9 characters from horror films, from The Shining, to Weapons, to The Substance, are caught in mid-laugh or mid-scream. The ambiguity between the two emotions is the crux of the show.

Horror comedies have been around since the early days of cinema, and they've always been a mixed bag. Almost always, horror takes a back seat in boring parodies.

But a new breed of imaginative movies is changing how horror and humor mix in one film.

Gorier, wilder, and unafraid to be absurd, these movies are a new subgenre that is turning heads! 

Thanks for listening!

Covered in This Episode:

Reggie Bannister (1945-2026)

Screaming Mad George (1956-2026)

Christopher Dyer’s Newsletter:http://www.Dyersdungeon.com

Freaks and Psychos: The Disability in Horror Podcast:https://freaksandpsychospodcast.com/

American Graffiti (1973)

Happy Days (1974-1984)

Airplane! (1980)

Un Chien Andalou (1929)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954)

Student Bodies (1981)

Pandemonium (1982)

 National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1982)

Saturday the 14th (1981)

Wacko (1982)

Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Hausu (1976)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

It’s Alive (1976)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

 Evil Dead II (1987)

Bad Taste (1987)

Dead-Alive (1993)

Reanimator (1985)

 eturn Of the Living Dead (1984)

The Office (UK) (2001-2003)

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Cocaine Bear (2023)

USING SALT ON SWEETS: HUMOR MAKES THE HORROR HIT HARDER

Barbarian (2022)

Cuckoo (2024)

Weapons (2025)

USING HORROR AND HUMOR AS SOCIAL SATIRE

The Substance (2024)

Sorry To Bother You (2018)

Ugly Stepsister (2025)

KILLING THE JOKE: SHOWING A JOKE SCENARIO AND TAKING IT SERIOUSLY

The Coffee Table (2022)

Obsession (2026)

SPLATTERSTICK: USING GORE AS MONTY PYTHON DID

The Monkey (2025)

Heart Eyes (2025)

CREATING A HYBRID GENRE

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025)

Dust Bunny (2025)