Have you ever noticed that a blood-curdling scream and a raucous belly laugh have much in common?
 |
| BLOOD-CURDLING LAUGH |
 |
| BELLY LAUGH |
They both are automatic responses—you couldn't stop them if you tried. They come after either an unexpected fright, in the case of the blood-curdling scream, or an unexpected joke, or pratfall, in the case of the raucous belly laugh. This is also true for a quick intake of breath after a slight scare and a chuckle after a witty jab. I don't know if horror and humor are controlled by the same area of the brain, but if not, their separate areas must be, at the very least, good neighbors.
This is why mixing horror with humor is a good bet for creating something entertaining. And why I took on the challenge in my novel, Creature Feature: A Horrid Comedy.
 |
| EBOOK AND PRINT BOOK—TAKE YOUR PICK |
It takes place in the 1960s when Kathy Anderson, an Actors Studio trained thespian of earnest intent, is stuck in Chicago playing Vivacia the Vampire Woman, hostess of a local late-night TV creature feature movie show. Disgusted with being a sex object for geeks and nerds, she quits the show to head for Broadway and a brilliant theatrical career. She stops off on the way to see her folks in Placidville, the small town she grew up in. But her parents seem a little, shall we say, off. As do the neighbors. And her best friend from high school, Mary. And especially Mary's brother, Gerald, the geekiest nerd (or nerdiest geek, if you prefer) in town. He tries to warn her of dire, dark, and dastardly doings, but Kathy just won’t listen.
As my novel spoofs old monster movies, I looked to precedents such as Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein,
Roger Corman's The Raven starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre parodying some of their past efforts,
and, of course, Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein.
All films near and dear to my funny bone. I took particular note of why they worked so well. It was because of a wisdom of comedy first pointed out to me by Chuck Jones, the great Looney Tunes director of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, et al., and the creator of the Coyote and the Roadrunner.
 |
| ME AND CHUCK JONES 1991 |
I worked with Chuck off and on for years.
One day we were discussing Airplane!, the 1980 comedy feature film. I pointed out that many of the gags in the movie seemed much like the work of that other great cartoon director, Tex Avery. Especially Avery's comedy timing and visual surrealness. Chuck agreed but then pointed out that it "worked" as a feature film because they took the plot seriously. "You really cared if that damn plane was going to crash or not," Chuck said. And, indeed, the filmmakers had "borrowed" the plot and characters from the 1957 Paramount film, Zero Hour, a straight dramatic suspense film.
The same could be said of the horror-comedy films mentioned above. The horrible threats from creatures and vampires were real for Abbott and Costello. And in the wizards' duel between Price and Karloff, the dire consequences if the good wizard lost were unthinkable. The confusion and existential angst that Young Frankenstein's monster felt were just as telling as what the original Frankenstein's monster felt. They were just a hell of a lot funnier!
So, in Creature Feature: A Horrid Comedy, I put in as much serious weirdness, threat, frights, flights, suspense, and potential horrible outcomes as I could (I mean, being eaten alive is a pretty horrible potential outcome) to form the skeleton for the flesh of funny.
Besides spoofing old creature feature movies, I added some satire of politics. But that may be too horrible and frightening to discuss at this time.
As my novel was imbued with the spirit of monster movies, I wanted the audiobook to be performed more than just read. I wanted it to have fine comedic performances. So, I needed performers with natural wit and an innate sense of comedy timing. I didn't have to look far, for right in my Rolodex was Seamus Dever and Juliana Dever. (I don't really have a Rolodex, but I liked the alliteration.) You will remember the Devers (yes, they are married) from ABC's excellent mystery series, Castle. Seamus played Detective Ryan, a regular on the show. And Juliana guest-starred occasionally as Jenny, his girlfriend and, later, his wife.
 |
| JULIANA DEVER AND SEAMUS DEVER IN CASTLE |
I first met Seamus when I directed him in a staged reading of a one-act play by Ray Bradbury.
 |
JAMES CROMWELL AND SEAMUS DEAVER
READING A RAY BRADBURY PLAY |
I was and remain a fan of Castle. The range of Seamus’s talent from the deeply dramatic to the comedic was well displayed in the series. Seamus is active in Los Angeles theatre, and I rarely miss an opportunity to see him on stage. And his work with Los Angeles Theatre Works (LATW), America's finest radio theater company, has been a delight to follow. Seamus, I knew, would be perfect as the narrator and the characters in the audiobook. But I also knew that Kathy/Vivacia, who is, after all, the main protagonist of the story, needed her own voice. When I saw the wit, lively banter, and obvious chemistry Seamus and Juliana shared in several "lockdown" videos they posted online, it was obvious. Juliana should be my Kathy/Vivacia.
I feel fortunate that Seamus and Juliana agreed to do the audiobook.
 |
A TEASER POSTER FOR THE
CREATURE FEATURE AUDIOBOOK |
Besides performing, Seamus produced, directed, and edited the recording, applying his wit and great sense of comedy timing to those efforts as well.
Did my mixing horror and humor work?
Well, New York Times bestselling author of horror novels Jonathan Maberry
 |
| JONATHAN MABERRY |
has said: "Creature Feature is a weird, funny, twisty romp through the creepier parts of the American landscape. Highly entertaining and highly recommended."
And Phil Proctor, one-fourth of The Firesign Theatre, the legendary comedy group that the Library of Congress called "The Beatles of Comedy,"
 |
| PHIL PROCTOR |
said of the audiobook: "This is the most horrible thing I've ever heard—and that's a good thing! It's screamingly funny and probably one of the best performed and produced audiobooks I've ever heard...and I have tinnitus."
So, I guess the answer is yes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ALL THE CREATURE FEATURE LINKS YOU COULD USE
