The titular quote is, of course, from the comedy gem Ghostbusters, and I'm sure many of you have heard the stirrings about Ghostbusters 3. The original film boasted an incredibly funny script, an amazing cast and fine direction, resulting in one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time. What does this have to do with horror? Calm down, I'm getting to it. There is no doubt that Ghostbusters is a pure comedy, but elements from the horror genre bled into it, from the basic premise to the final act in which the 'Busters do battle with a demon from another dimension, horror fans recognize these tropes.

Unlike science fiction, which is its own genre entirely, the horror/comedy has a bit more blur to the edges. The first example, and one of the first of its kind, is John Landis' An American Werewolf in London. Hot off a series of successful comedies, Landis underwent the difficult task of blending the terrifying with the ridiculous and the result is happily successful. David Naughton and Griffin Dunne play well off one another, and Dunne's turn as the rapidly-decomposing best friend led to the now-classic "I refuse to be threatened by a walking meatloaf!" line. Still, American Werewolf is no comedy, not at heart. It's a horror film with comedic elements, and it opened the door for films to exorcise the most horrific images by playing for laughs.

American Werewolf led to a series of these horror/comedy hybrids, from House to Gremlins to Scream, the horror/comedy subgenre found its share of successes and disappointments, but it also allowed horror filmmakers to delve into dark corners and go for the scare, while still keeping the mood light enough to bring in more casual moviegoers to the horror fold. A film like Arachnophobia walked this line fairly well, causing major-league creeps for many of us with an aversion to spiders while still reassuring its audience that things would never get too awful, never too horrible that a laugh or cheap joke could not be mined from the material.

Scream was the high water mark for this subgenre, taking the slasher movie and giving it a comedic and self-deprecating nudge while still providing genuine scares. Kevin Williamson's script deserves praise and scorn for breathing new life into the sagging horror genre, but also setting the stage for these self-referential horror films to sap true scares from the films being released in the wake of Scream. Too often, parody became the lynchpin instead of the subtext and movies like Idle Hands felt so disjointed (no pun intended) that the stream of horror comedies released quickly dried to a trickle.  

life into the sagging horror genre, but also setting the stage for these self-referential horror films to sap true scares from the films being released in the wake of Scream. Too often, parody became the lynchpin instead of the subtext and movies like Idle Hands felt so disjointed (no pun intended) that the stream of horror comedies released quickly dried to a trickle.

The danger in the use of comedy within a horror film is that it lets the audience off the hook in a way that is often unsatisfying. If you know, as a viewer, that a potential laugh is coming, it makes the horror on the screen more palatable, less visceral and, ultimately, less effective. There are a few exceptions, like American Werewolf or Shaun of the Dead, where the line is tread upon so carefully that both the horrific and the comedic have equal potency, but there are far more where the effect is diluted by ridiculous characterizations or cheap-shot jokes.

Though comedy will always find a way to integrate itself into the horror genre, writers and directors alike must stay true to what the film should be. If comedy enhances the film, as with a film like Slither, so be it and good luck. But the infusion of one-liners and bad puns also creates quick dismissals in a viewer, so much the case with the ill-begotten Freddy vs. Jason where the Freddy character was a one-liner-spewing ghoul intent on draining the last of the terror from the character. As with everything fun in life, comedy must be used responsibly.