The black comedies of the 80s are not, as they might sound, limited to African-American comedies, but instead are the movies that make you laugh even when you might feel guilty for doing so. They’re the movies that are so dark in nature and so depressing at time that you can’t help but wonder why you’re laughing at them in the first place since the subject material is just a bit dim. Then again, they might be termed as comedies but at the same time they’re still increasingly dark and make fun of situations that you might find insanely creepy and hard to deal with. With all that in mind black comedies really aren’t for those that take things too literally and are offended by subject matter that’s put in a comedic light rather than kept as horror or drama that might otherwise suit it. These kind of comedies are those that really have a deviant sense of humor, or those that can at least see the funny side of things.
Here are a few of the best black comedies from the 80s.
5. The Burbs
Sometimes all you want to do is just stay home, relax, and put your feet up. But when you have neighbors such as those in this movie you tend to realize very quickly staying home isn’t the problem, it’s thinking that you could relax for more than a few minutes at a time. When a new family moves into one of the creepiest houses in the neighborhood Tom Hanks and his fellow neighbors can’t help but become suspicious when they notice a few late-night occurrences that make little to no sense. When they start finding what look like human bones in the neighbors’ back yard though they really start to panic.
4. Scrooged
The story of Ebeneezer Scrooge has been told in many different ways, but this was a serious update for the old tale, 80s-style. Frank Cross is not the kind of guy that enjoys Christmas unless it means increased ratings for his company and that everything is going his way. But when he’s visited by three ghosts to show him just how his actions have and still are affecting those around him it becomes obvious that his life is not what he thought it was. This comedy ends on a pretty positive note but the whole way through people are likely going to cringe as they see a man do just about anything and everything to advance his own career at the expense of others.
3. Creepshow
I hear you, “How can a horror movie be funny?”. Well that’s pretty simple, you make it into a comic series and the amp up the horror factor to such a degree that you can’t help but laugh when something actually happens. Seriously, this movie was so over the top when it came to the horrific details that one had to laugh or end up crying because it became so increasingly gory. Each story had its own laughable scenes and each one was so over the top that you could never imagine it happening in real life. Plus the ending was actually a bit comical as you think about how it all started in the first place.
2. Evil Dead II
Yes, another horror movie that somehow went comical and yet remained so scary that people had to cover their eyes at times. Ash was back to confront the Evil Dead once again and after cutting off his own hand he started taking potshots at it with the shotgun. The resulting geysers of blood that came bursting out of the wall were comical enough, but when every object in the room started laughing at him you didn’t know whether to be terrified or just join in. Of course by the time Ash finally joins the hilarity you can’t help yourself and might at least emit a snicker as you think just ridiculous it all is.
1. Better Off Dead
This movie had the potential to be very dark but thankfully the powers that be decided to inject some humor into to lighten things up a bit. Obviously when a kid is feeling down in the dumps there’s something to be concerned about, especially if he’s thinking about killing himself over and over. But the way he goes about it and the way that each attempt is botched so horribly just becomes a continual laugh riot as the movie keeps moving forward. Plus, some people might find this horrible, but the moment when Ricky’s mom drinks the lighter fluid and then blows herself up was actually pretty hilarious.
Black comedies aren’t meant to be the traditional ‘haha that was hilarious’ routine, they’re meant to be the ‘oh my God did they really just do that?’. If they were meant to be any different the term ‘black comedy’ would no longer apply.
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