The delightfully absurd world of “So Bad It’s Good” horror-comedies

Key topics:

• Celebrates “so bad it’s good” horror-comedy films

• Highlights absurd, low-budget creature and object horrors

• Shows a cult following and humour in outrageous premises

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By Beth Brunnig

There are those movies you will always remember. You saw them when you were young and they left an indelible mark on your psyche – you will love them forever. Then there are those movies you really like. You saw them at the cinema – they were big productions and the feels were big as you saw them. There are also those movies that are important. Those with artistic merit, or important lessons for humanity to impart. We love all of those.

But there’s another kind of movie.

The cinematic equivalent of background TV, or trash reality shows. These movies are churned out fairly regularly because they are cheap and they don’t require too much talent. At the same time, they ‘succeed’ – at least in the entertainment sense – often enough to have spawned a whole generation of devoted fans.

We’re talking horror movies – but not the good stuff. Forget The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. Shelve all those shiny Oscar and Golden Globe Statues and any appeal to the finer sensibilities. These are the comedy horrors.

Still, not any horrors with comedic undertones, or comedies with splashes of horror, qualify. Films that are tacky but relatively well made do not qualify. So forget flicks like Fright Night, Eight Legged Freaks or Vampire In Brooklyn – as funny as they are, they take themselves far too seriously. And also forget all-out spoofs like Wayans Brothers’ satires like Scary Movie.

No, we are going deeper into the darker recesses of human creativity.

Leave behind all efforts to make a point, teach a lesson or actually terrify.

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Instead, enter the world of bad. So bad it’s good. Sit back, lower your expectations, because the next few recommendations will keep you in the middle of your seat, with your spine against the backrest and your arms at your sides. This is your introduction to some of the wackiest nonsense ever produced.

BLACK SHEEP (2006)

We kick off with an international film, but one with impeccable bona fides. Made by Jonathan King and Philippa Campbell, despite its best efforts, it nevertheless suffered positive reviews from critics, a Best Feature Narcisse Award and stunning return on investment at the box office. It was set in New Zealand. What’s in New Zealand? Sheep. Lots of them. And Black Sheep takes the abundance of beady-eyed wool balls and turns them into a bleating herd of zombies. Zombie sheep. You might shake your head, but it played this outrageous premise completely straight. Even The Guardian described it as sheer terror – and fans consistently rank it very highly. Why not? Use what you have and write what you know, as they say…

ATTACK OF THE KILLER DONUTS (2016)

A serum – accidentally created to reanimate the dead – falls into the doughnut fat deep fryer in a little shop called Dandy Donuts, where Johnny works with his best friend. A green serum. It’s always green, isn’t it? With C. Thomas Howell among the cast, the Los Angeles Times hated the film – aways a good sign. There was some praise from the Hollywood Reporter – but the film is a fun way to spend a weekend night with friends who refuse to take anything in life, or the world, seriously. This film exemplifies one of the mainstays of the genre – take something completely non-threatening and make it deadly.

SLOTHERHOUSE (2023)

A killer sloth in a sorority. Taken from the Amazon and kept as a pet, it soon begins stalking the college girls in the sorority house. The scenes of the sloth driving, and the fight scene, are some of the best worst moments in film history. There were many opportunities to make it completely tasteless, all of which the film avoided. Despite the silliness, it is actually all good fun. The writers literally began by thinking of the dumbest ideas they could – and yet the film was inspired by classical horror

films and practical effects. It’s infinitely watchable, but only if you have a sense of humour.

KILLER SOFA (2019)

nother Kiwi masterpiece… Now might be a good time to let everyone know that low-budget New Zealand horror films gave us Peter Jackson, who began his career doing these. This one, however, is in no way affiliated with anything or anyone resembling Peter Jackson remotely. An occultist obsessed with his former girlfriend hires a vet to saw off his legs so he can hide in her couch… but he dies during the procedure (who could have thought?). Now the chair is possessed, and detectives are on the case. There’s actually a slew of these… furniture and appliance horrors, including The Refrigerator and Death Bed: The Bed That Eats. And you thought your last move was hard.

LLAMAGEDDON (2015)

Returning to our random and unassuming items or objects gone bad, fear breaks out as a killer llama from outer space crash-lands in Eaton, Ohio and begins a bloody, murder spree. Made for $3000, most of the actors had the foresight to appear in the film using pseudonyms. Scoring only 2 out of five stars shouldn’t fool you – this film is absolutely worth every star it didn’t get. The scenes of a llama with red eyes attacking people by shooting red lasers out of its eyes are the kind of thing that one never, ever forgets… even after years of therapy. This is the perfect so bad it’s good film.

VELOCIPASTOR (2017)

Pastor Doug Jones becomes infected by an artefact. This turns him into a velociraptor whenever he becomes angry. Think Jurassic Park meets Hulk meets The Omen. This film is the perfect introduction to another standard trope – take two things and mix them together, and let the intersection explode with low-budget, absurd goodness. Crowdfunded to the tune of $36,000 – the film may be laughable to many, but on a strict dollar-in vs dollar-out basis, it is one of the most successful horrors of the 21st century. It even has a sequel, which wrapped production in October 2023. Getting a sequel is like a horror movie bar mitzvah – it’s a sign that you can be taken seriously. One journalist said it’s better than one would expect – high praise in this category. Don’t expect Spielberg-level special effects and you’ll be fine.

SHARKNADO (2013)

Sharks are scary. Tornadoes are scary. Jaws and Twister, right? Add them together, and you have this made-for-TV disaster horror comedy movie. Laugh all you want – there are five sequels. Six of these babies in total. Every respectable critic hated the film, which explains the sequels. There is a cult following around these that even horror cornerstones like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th will envy. A waterspout picks up sharks over the ocean. They are dropped off over Los Angeles (where else?). Horror and hilarity ensue.

SHARK EXORCIST (2014)

All I have to do is give you the premise. Ready? A demonic nun unleashes holy hell when she summons the devil to possess a great white shark. Sticking with sharks, this one really takes things to the next level. It has absolutely the worst special effects ever, and the film seems to revel in that. There are a few moments where you can hear the cameraman breathing. It is utterly, totally and irredeemably stupid. It isn’t well made. But it was made. Someone wrote it, directed it, funded it, starred in it, filmed it, edited it and released it. Also, some folks watched it. Some of them more than once. From here, the only way is up… and that might be the best thing about this movie. There’s nowhere else to sink to.

LAVANTULA (2015)

A series of volcanic eruptions release giant, lava-spewing tarantulas on Los Angeles. A-list actor Colton West (he wishes) has an argument with a film director and storms off set when the disaster strikes. We can all only hope and pray there are A-list actors to save us when our world implodes this way. The character is the closest the film will ever come to A-list anything. Then again, it has Steve Guttenberg. Nia Peebles. Michael Winslow. Be careful – the scariest thing about this film is that it seems there might be enough appeal to make more and more of them, for more money, using bigger names. A Pandora’s box has been opened, folks, and it ain’t going away. Brace yourselves. A sequel has already been made.

ROBOCROC (2013)

A rocket carrying nanorobots crashes shortly after take-off into a zoo. The bots are released and find their way into a massive crocodile. The croc, now programmed to kill, will target anything and anyone for its next meal. But of course it does. Dee Wallace, Corin Nemec. Steven Hartley and Lisa McAllister star – to put it, erm, charitably. This film is so bad it’s actually just bad… even fans of the subgenre hate it. But as far as plots go, this one actually is the most realistic of the lot. Are you ready for more of these? Well, you’d best get ready – because they wouldn’t be making so many of these unless people watched them, and enough have been made to prove there is a sustainable market for these. What does it mean? What does it say about humanity? The only answer I can think of sounds, itself, like a plot for these B-movies… we’re doomed. But then – in a world filled with so much ugliness and pain, actual fear and real anxiety – there might be something almost inspirational in a species that can find humour and absurdity in what, on the surface, could be called viscerally terrifying. And if you can believe that… boy… stick around… because I have a movie to pitch you!