10 Hidden Comedy Horror Movie Gems Of The Last Decade
5. Vicious Fun (2020)
Writer-director Cody Calahan’s Vicious Fun is as viciously entertaining as its title suggests.
A neon-drenched love letter to everything slasher, the film sees neurotic horror nerd Joel (Evan Marsh) unwittingly stumble upon a secret meeting of the deadliest serial killers in America. His intrusion is soon discovered, and Joel’s night is turned into a tense game of cat and mouse.
From the offset this flick is a gleeful homage to the pulpy B-Movies of the early-80s. There’s plenty for genre fans to adore here, from the pulsating synth score that’s reminiscent of Halloween to the collection of killers themselves, who are exaggerated caricatures of horror archetypes. Each antagonist is delightful for their own reason, but it’s Ari Millen’s Bateman-esque killer Bob who steals the spotlight thanks to his frightening levels of charisma.
The jokes and gore come thick and fast in this bombastic romp, with each hitting just as hard as each other. Punchy one-liners and energetic performances give this flick plenty of personality and charm whereas moments of stomach-churning gruesomeness can be difficult to watch (especially one sequence involving a scalpel and an eyeball).
Vicious Fun is everything you could ever want to see in a comedy-horror.