“Sam Raimi: How Does Horror Comedy Work?”
As physical media is slowly being killed off, they are dragging with them copious bonus materials that provide a ton of insight into how films are made and how artists approach their work. In theory digital services and streaming should have a bunch more abilities for such things—selecting between audio tracks for commentaries (or supplying your own!), and other branching choices to watch trailers, BTS footage, interviews, and more. But that is apparently not the case until a particular movie ends up with a boutique home video company like Criterion, Vinegar Syndrome, Shout Factory, Arrow Video, and the like.
But the lack of supplementary insight steps presents an opportunity for video essayists to step up. GoodBadFlicks, Ryan Hollinger, Pushing Up Roses, and more not only review and explore particular films/filmmakers, but also do a bunch of research into the making of and other aspects around the creation of these movies. Patrick H. Willems is one of the premier video essayists on YouTube and has covered all aspects of filmmaking and all types of filmmakers, while creating some of his own fun shorts himself. In 2017, Willems looked at how horror and comedy can work together, but it takes a deft hand to do so without weakening either genre involved. And he did this through the example of Sam Raimi.
THE EVIL DEAD wasn’t that funny or schticky as his later films, but Raimi has always had an air of the madcap about him; like the person who runs a haunted house that delights equally in the screams and laughter he hears drifting from his corridors of shocks. Willems expertly pinpoints the way that Raimi enjoys and employs the malleability of genre, using the difference being found in timing, camera angles, and energy of the scene itself. They are subtle choices (that may yield unsubtle moments like the Three Stooges’ homage in ARMY OF DARKNESS), but end up allowing for both the scary and the hilarious to co-exist in one film without creating a jarring sense of mismatched tones or leaning in one direction over the other. Even through the SPIDER-MAN movies and DRAG ME TO HELL, Raimi finds ways to create genuinely unnerving moments followed by blatantly absurdly hysterical gags.
Be sure to follow Willems on Twitter and, if you enjoy his work, please consider supporting him on Patreon if you are able.