You Can't Make Fun of Jason

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You Can't Make Fun of Jason
A Horror Comedy Recipe?

When the writer/director Tom McLaughlin was approached to make the SIXTH Friday the 13 movie back in the eighties, he watched all five previous films and told the Producer he could do it if he could make it funny.
The Producer Frank Mancuso Jr, in charge of the franchise at the time, said, "Well, you can't make fun of Jason."
McLoughlin already knew that, and said no, of course not - Jason has to be played seriously.

Now, 'Jason has to be taken seriously' is a funny thought, but in the context of his movies, it matters! Jason Lives was and is one of the most popular chapters in the franchise to this day.

It's sort of a recipe for Horror/Comedy. This is apparently a challenging genre to get right. A handful of exceptions that are massive successes, regardless.

It reminds me of one of my old favorites, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The A&C comedy duo were very skeptical of whether this was a good idea, having plenty of doubts about mixing monsters in with their wacky comedic shenanigans. Of course, this became their biggest hit I believe, and still has plenty of fans today - it might not be a household name but for a movie from 1948, it's had staying power!



Certainly it does in this fellow's heart!

The classic Universal Monsters Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolfman were scary back in the day - and this movie, starring two clowns, does not turn the monsters into clowns. Well…with an exception that I can mention in a minute.

The Monster, Wolfman and Dracula are still played straight, in character from their own movies, even when Dracula or Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man in human form) exchanges dialogue with goofballs Abbott and Costello.

The scene where Wilbur (Lou Costello) wanders around Larry Talbot's room, looking for him, while the Wolfman stalks him and just misses catching him, though Wilbur is walking around pretty casually - that's stretching things. Actually, later the Wolfman gets stuck between some trees. Again, it's stretched but not broken.

The Monster actually attacks and murders a character. Similar to Shawn of the Dead and Scream, the 'monsters' are actually threatening and horror-stuff happens.

I think it's still challenging to make a horror comedy that really works - but this approach, dating way back to 1940's cinema, is one thing that can help the horror/comedy creator get started, anyway!

Okay, that's it for me; see you next time!

-Banes


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