What I am most gripped by in horror comedies is the subversion of the Horror genre’s filmic tropes. The genre of Horror, perhaps more than any other, abounds with a litany of conventions to which just about every horror film will, on some level, adhere to. This is, in my view, precisely why a film series like the Scary Movie franchise–films which, in even a charitable characterization, are not very good–are able to produce four sequels from three independent production teams. There is just so much to spoof. In addressing the rise of Horror Comedies, Cynthia Miller identifies part of this genesis to be the wake of the horror films of the 50s, which possessed an ” ultra-serious tone taken by Hammer and its imitators, [leaving] the conventions of the undead-horror genre ripe for deconstruction…” (xvii) Miller also describes a tactic used by John Landis whereby a certain sardonicism is fused into the horror elements to add a degree of black humour that functions in congruity with the horror, rather than in the face of it. (xxviii) These ideas remind me of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010), an excellent horror-comedy wherein a group of college students go on vacation to the woods and come to believe that their neighbours, two “rednecks,” are attempting to murder them. The film is an excellent subversion of many horror tropes because the protagonists of the film are two southern guys that are terrified by the college students seemingly making a point to kill themselves around Tucker and Dale, and the antagonists are a group of judgemental, privileged college students who believe Tucker and Dale are trying to kill them with no evidence other than “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and decide to kill them, inadvertently killing each other. The scene chosen does a good job exposing the humour in subverting these tropes, as Dale is made to appear intellectually disabled, evoking Leatherface and Jason as brooding but intellectually disabled monsters, whereas Tucker is simply flustered to be speaking with an attractive woman.
I love this movie, and funny enough I was thinking about using this movie for my blog post. I agree with your analysis and think that this movie is a brilliant flip on the ‘backwoods’ horror sub-genre in which a murderer is loose in the woods. The horror genre has so much to spoof and this movie reminds me of a Carroll quote where she talks about a reduction in the threatening edge of the “monsters”, as we know that Tucker and Dale are really just nice and slightly awkward people with no murderous intent, but the college kids don’t know that.
I think this is an interesting example not only because of its subversion of horror tropes but because of how this also leads to an interrogation of the conservatism of horror Arnzen mentions. A lot of horror uses this trope of “mountain men” type villains against privileged college students (Wrong Turn comes to mind) which can, through fear, reinforce class and regional divides and judgements. This movie making those assumptions look baseless and funny makes us question both formal and ideological conventions.