Gore into laughter … no way, right?  Wrong!   

       Scream has become an iconic movie that has influenced many comedy movies but has also created a new genre “Comedy Horror”. As someone who enjoys horror movies, I grew up watching slasher movies such as Scream, Halloween, and Sleepaway Camp. When these movies were released, they had the ability to become something much more than just an ordinary horror movie. Scream was one of the first to infuse comedy into horror.   

What is Scream?  

    Scream follows the character Sidney Prescott, a high school student in the town of Woodsboro, California, who becomes targeted by a mysterious killer hiding behind a Ghostface mask. The slasher film combines dark humor and whodunit mystery.   

   Scream has become a franchise that consists of four slasher films, a television series, and merchandise. According to the article “Scary Movie Fandom”, posted on https://scarymovie.fandom.com/wiki/Scary_Movie, “Scream continues to be the slasher movie, it grossed $118 million whttps://scarymovie.fandom.com/wiki/Scary_Movieith great Rotten Tomatoes Reviews.” 

Why it’s a Great Horror Movie!  

     Many slasher movies are available, but none compare to the iconic Scream. “Scream was one of the first horror movies I saw. It’s a great option for those who opt out on horror movies, because it was tolerable and fun to watch,” said sophomore Angie Escobar.    

      “Although Scream wasn’t much of a horror movie, it was gory. The movie had another task besides scaring its viewers.  It was mainly focused on how observant the viewer was to guess who the killer behind the Ghostface mask was,” said sophomore Megan Mendoza.     

     The movie combines different genres into one, such as thriller and mystery. When viewers feel the need to be on edge and try to solve who was behind the mask, it makes for an entertaining and pleasant viewing. The movie’s provocation to make viewers think and scare them makes it much better than watching any other slasher movies such as Halloween, Child’s Play and Friday the 13th.    

The Start of Horror Parodies  

    According to the article “Every Horror Movie Ever Spoofed” posted on https://www.vulture.com/2013/04/scary-movie-franchise-every-film-spoofed-referenced.html, Scream was influenced by the real case of the “Gainesville Ripper”, a serial killer and singer who murdered several high school students in Florida. Nonetheless, Scream used dark humor to make light of the situation without knowing its comedy potential.   

    Many viewers and fanatics started converting several clips of the movie into jokes, several producers took note of what the viewers were doing with the movie and were inspired by the viewers’ creativity. Scary Movie became the outlet for the funny clips found in Scream.   

   Although Scary Movie continued with the films that were parodied plots, they managed to create a hit in the comedy industry. According to the Article “Behind Movies and Ranks”, posted on the website https://www.boxofficemojo.com, Scary Movie has received many mixed reviews on Metacritic and grossed $278 million worldwide on a $19 million budget.   

    After its exponential success Scary Movie was followed up by four sequels. When other film makers saw the success of Scary Movie, they started producing their own. A Haunted House inspired by The Conjuring, Vampires Suck inspired by Twilight, and 30 Nights of Paranormal inspired by Paranormal Activity are movies that take the horror movies and transform them into comedic films.   

Horror Comedy Trending 

    Although comedy horror is a different genre from comedy, the audience for comedy horror has increased and more viewers are preferring to watch it as well. Junior Sarahi Rodriguez says, “Not only is it fun to watch comedy movies but knowing that they can infuse horror into it makes it much better for a pleasant viewing with friends.”   

    When it comes down to choosing a genre 11 out of 16 students at Miami Senior High School choose the sub-genre comedy horror, because “It’s a two-in-one, no one asked for it, but it created something Neapolitan,” said sophomore Kimberly Escobar.   

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