By Michael McKee
Correspondent
“Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein.” “Army of the Dead.” “Scream.” The tradition of horror comedy has a long and celebrated history, and is not as contradictory as its name might imply. This year, we saw the two most recent entries in this genre: box office smash “Weapons” and the largely unnoticed “The Toxic Avenger.” While both films are excellent in their horror and comedy elements, the question remains: which film is better?
“Weapons” caught much attention throughout the marketing process through its unique premise: “Last night, at 2:17 p.m., every child from Ms. Gandy’s class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, walked into the dark… and they never came back.”
The film is told from the perspectives of many different characters, including the teacher, Justine Gandy; the father of one of the missing kids, Archer Graff; Gandy’s policeman ex-boyfriend, Paul Morgan; drug addict, James; and the only kid who didn’t go missing, Alex Lilly. This method allows the viewer to slowly piece together the story’s mystery.
Throughout the film, there is an underlying, uneasy tension: the closer the characters get to solving the mystery, the more danger they face. This danger can surface at unexpected moments, putting the viewer on the edge of their seat, constantly questioning if the characters are safe.
With this eerie tone dominating the film, viewers would be pleasantly surprised that “Weapons” also contains high amounts of comedy.
Much of this comedy comes from the actors' excellent performances. Julia Garner portrays Gandy’s inability to get her life together with a messy semi-incompetence, Josh Brolin shows Graff’s frustration with the increasingly bizarre occurrences around town, and Alden Ehrenreich and Austin Abrams do a great job of portraying the buffoonish rivalry between Officer Morgan and James. Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan also do great jobs in comedic supporting roles.
A lot of this comedy is derived from awkward interactions, in which the conflicting personalities of the various characters clash with each other, and through their realistic reactions to the supernatural incidents. Of special note is James’ section, where his detached and self-interested personality clashes wonderfully with the horrific events going on around him, as well as a variety of scenes in the third act which cannot be spoiled.
“The Toxic Avenger” was officially released in 2023 at the Fantastic Fest film festival, but only got a wide theatrical release this year. The film is a reboot of the 1984 horror comedy cult classic of the same name and stars big names such as Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood.
The film concerns Winston Gooze, a widower and single stepdad, who works as a janitor for the megacorporation BTH when he gets diagnosed with cancer. An escalating series of events occurs, leading to Gooze getting dumped into toxic BTH chemicals, mutating him into the monstrous Toxic Avenger aka. Toxie. After Toxie starts saving local residents from gangsters and other evil doers, he becomes the town’s celebrated do-gooder.
The film is also defined by its excellent ensemble cast. Dinklage does a great job of portraying the beleaguered Gooze and empowered Toxie. Bacon is really able to ham it up (pun intended) as the film’s antagonist, BTH owner Bob Garbinger and Wood is able to give menace as well as sympathetic qualities to Bob’s deformed younger brother and henchman, Fritz.
Any analysis of the inventive reboot would be incomplete without mentioning the supporting characters such as Taylor Paige as intrepid BTH whistleblower, J.J. Doherty, Jacob Tremblay as Toxie’s disconnected stepson, Wade, Jonny Coyne as the Garbingers’ mafioso ally, Thad Barkabus and Julia Davis as Bob’s smitten assistant, Kissy.
Last, but certainly not least, are The Killer Nutz, a hitman gang for BTH fronting as a popular death metal band overseen by Fritz. Each of the Nutz has their own unique and chaotic personality that shines, even with their brief screentime. All of these characters have their own greatly comedic moments which adds much to the film.
With all this being said, which film does horror comedy better? It is important to note that both of these films do horror comedy differently.
“Weapons” is mostly focused on horror with most of the comedy being a release from the terrifying atmosphere. The comedy is subtle and derived from the characters’ personalities until it hits a crescendo in the third act with more absurd situations.
Meanwhile, “The Toxic Avenger” is more focused on comedy, with a heavily satirical tone, that takes aim at megacorporations, pollution, local corruption, mass media, alternative subcultures and the culture war. The film features graphic humor, off-the-wall zaniness, big punchlines, absurd situations and extreme contrasting personalities. Much of the film's horror elements come from its aesthetic, with gnarly gore and practical effects, on top of its monstrous main character.
Overall, “Weapons” acts as more of a fusion between horror and comedy, in the vein of films such as “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Evil Dead 2,” “Child’s Play,” “Scream” and “Get Out.” “The Toxic Avenger” on the other hand acts as more of a comedy with horror aesthetics, in the vein of “Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein,” “Ghostbusters,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” “Scary Movie” and “Shaun of the Dead.”
To actually rate the films, “The Toxic Avenger” is the better comedy, while “Weapons” is the better horror, the better film overall and does a better job fusing the two genres.
You can watch “Weapons” on HBOMax and “The Toxic Avenger” on Amazon Prime and YouTube TV.
