My aim of this short essay is to
identify how important the body is, visually and thematically, in horror
comedy. Both genres share a similarity - ‘the transgression of a category, a concept, a norm or
commonplace expectation’ (Carroll, 1999, p.154). In other words, their films go beyond logic and break socially acceptable
boundaries. A key example of this can be seen in Peter Jackson's brilliant film Braindead. Through two of my favourite scenes I will
explore the importance of the body within the horror-comedy genre, specifically the zombie. As I will explore, the zombie can traditionally encourage fear but also elicit humour - an obvious aspect when considering horror
comedy. Noell Carroll confirms, ‘Just as the mental state of fear must be directed at
a particular object subsumable under the category of perceived harmfulness, the
mental state of comic amusement requires being directed at a particular
subsumable under the category of apparent incongruity’ (1999, p.154).
It is important to note that as a comedy, Braindead employs incongruity and relief theory, which is the 'release of pent up nervous energy in forms of laughter’
(Critchley, 2002, p.3). Incongruity is the bringing together of disparate or contrasting
ideas or concepts. Working within these theorems, further
ideas will now be discussed such as; excess, the grotesque and carnivalesque,
disgust and the notion of ‘splatstick’.
The first scene from Braindead which I will briefly analyse can be seen below. The relaxation in censorship after the 1970s, in addition to
the popularisation of the horror genre, enabled Jackson to be excessive in Braindead, most noticeably in this
scene. Visually there are gory special effects and puppetry (plus effective use of gardening equipment), to thematically
imply ideas of disgust and epitomise the notion of ‘splatstick’, the main characteristic of which is excess. Laughter is
released when realising the incongruous use of gore and the physicality used to
achieve it.
From the above scene, the use of dismembered bodies link to the idea of disgust, that which is unpleasant to the taste. According to Miller, severability and the 'slimy, the gooey, the squishy, the viscous – [are] rather powerful predictors
of the disgusting’ (1997, p.106). However, the
excessive amount of gore and obvious cinematic construction to achieve it is so
ludicrous it becomes comedic. Thus the scene epitomises the notion of
‘splatstick’ - comedy through stylistic and gory excess. The focus on the breakdown of the body (through various intermittent close-ups) eliminates fear of the zombie, an
elimination which is the connective between horror and comedy. The scene is overall also about the ignominy of the body, a generic feature that comedy
shares.
Working within the incongruous
framework in comedy, the next analysis will explore thematic ideas of the
grotesque and carnivalesque. The grotesque focuses on the body and its refusal
to be restrained by boundaries. It is the basis for the carnivalesque theory as
King explains, ‘one of the key aspects of carnivalesque humour [...] is the
representation of the human body as a source of the grotesque’ (2002, p.65). The essential principle of each is degradation and falls
under the ‘gross-out’ category associated with horror and comedy - ‘Gross-out,
whether comedy or horror, is based on ambivalence because gross-out explicitly
acknowledges the attractive in the repellent, the beautiful in the ugly. As it
is a mode moving in two directions at once, the horror films may invoke comedy’
(Paul, 1994, p.419). The scene follows Lionel feeding four zombies at a dinner
table.
Gratuitous special effects make the scene grotesque and the entirety of this sequence is highly comedic and therefore, carnivalesque. It indulges in unacceptable behaviour associated with formal dining, thus, critiquing bourgeois culture and alluding to carnivalesque traditions of displacing social hierarchies. By using the zombie as an example, the scene also epitomises the idea that 'horrific figures and humorous ones can, in principle, be perpetually indiscernible' (Carroll, 1999, p. 147)
To conclude, when using the zombie
as an example, the body is extremely important visually and thematically in
horror comedy. By analysing two scenes in Braindead, working within comedic frameworks of relief theory and
incongruity, as well as employing ideas from Carroll, it is clear that the body
is an imperative component of the hybrid genre. Using a zombie as an example,
‘they are attractive, in the sense that they elicit interest, and they are the
cause of, for many, irresistible attention, again, just because they violate
standing categories. They are curiosities. They can rivet attention and thrill
for the self-same reason that they disturb, distress and disgust’ (Carroll,
2002, p.39).
Through the analysis of the lawnmower scene,
the notion of disgust associated with horror is made comedic through the use of
excess and ‘splatstick’ as hundreds of zombies are dismembered in a ludicrous
fashion. The breakdown of the body is imperative in erasing fear and providing
a basis for the qualities of ‘splatstick’ humour. In the second scene, the
incongruous nature of four zombies formally dining encourages the theories of
the carnivalesque and therefore, the grotesque. The body is degraded and mocked
as the zombies attempt to eat, providing a comic tone for the scene as it also
conforms to genre traditions of the ‘gross-out’ comedy. The body is visually
important in horror comedy due to its physicality and how much of it can be
altered. It connects both horror and comedy together as the possibility to
transgress social boundaries, elicit fear and disgust, in addition to laughter.
As Carroll confirms, ‘In order to transform horror into laughter, the
fearsomeness of the monster – its threat to human life – must be sublated or
hidden from our attention. Then we will laugh where we would otherwise scream’
(1999, p.158).
Sources:
Carroll, N. (1999). Horror and
Humour. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, 57(2), pp.145-160
Carroll, N. (2002). The Nature of
Horror. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, 46(1), pp.51-59
Critchley, S. (2002). On Humour. London: Routledge
Jackson, P. (Director). (1992). Braindead [Motion Picture]. New Zealand:
WingNut Films
King, G. (2002). Film Comedy. London: Wallflower Press
Miller, W.I. (1997). The Anatomy of Disgust. Harvard: Harvard
University Press
Russell, J. (2005). Book of the Dead. Surrey: FAB Press
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