The most killer comedy horror parodies
Last year Black-ish featured an impeccable parody of Jordan Peele’s Get Out. Titled “R.E.S.P.E.C.T”, the episode saw Dre (Anthony Anderson) entering the Sunken Place after Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) tormented him with the suggestion his daughter would most definitely be having sex in college.
Full of near-perfect reference points to the Oscar-winning horror, the scene had Bow malevolently stirring a spoon in a teacup (like Catherine Keener’s hypnotist mom), an extreme close-up of Dre’s tear-strewn face (like that of Daniel Kaluuya’s Chris), and an almost identical effect of him falling into an endless black void.
The parody was so good it even earned Peele’s approval. The filmmaker & comedian took to Twitter to proclaim his love for the bit. “Blackish just did the best #GetOut bit I’ve seen so far.” – high praise indeed coming from a man who has done some incredible horror movie parodies himself as part of Key & Peele – his former sketch show with Keegan Michael-Key.
Like Black-ish, there have been some great horror movie & comedy sketch parodies in TV shows over the years. Here are ten of the best ever.
“Continental Breakfast” (Key & Peele)
For the most part, this sketch celebrating the lavish delights of hotel buffets doesn’t seem like it’s much of a horror movie parody. However, the real kicker (and genius) of “Continental Breakfast” is unveiled at the very end with a finale perfectly parodying the eerie closing shot of The Shining. Turns out Peele’s food-crazed guest on the verge of a breakdown has actually “never left” the hotel, which makes the previous scenes all the more delightfully insane.
“The Exorcist 2 ft. Richard Pryor” (SNL)
Saturday Night Live’s racially charged parody of The Exorcist saw Richard Pryor (Silver Streak) playing a hapless priest who puts up with all manner of physical, racial, and mental abuse from a young girl possessed by the devil – until she dares to insult his mom. Then it’s game over.
“Horror Movie” (Inside Amy Schumer)
Playing a character who farts whenever she gets scared, Amy Schumer’s hilarious riff on horror movie tropes offers up some embarrassing real-talk about how the everyday person might not survive a psycho killer. It’s possibly the silliest sketch on the list but easily one of the funniest.
“New Disney Show” (SNL)
“New Disney Show” features a tremendous attention to detail which makes this sketch feel like a legitimate trailer for an upcoming (and very watchable) family series. Starring Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) as a mom who has been turned into a “Korean water ghost”, the sketch features great references to East Asian horror movies and positions them in the unlikely realm of a perky Disney Channel show.
“Dr. Tongue’s 3D House of Stewardesses” (Second City TV)
Starring Joe Flaherty (Happy Gilmore) as Count Floyd and John Candy (Uncle Buck) as Doctor Tongue, this recurring SCTV sketch offered a ludicrous parody of even sillier Z-movies with “3D effects”. Particularly the ones that utilized such “technology” just to offer scintillating glimpses of scantily clad women.
“Big Brother Horror Movie” (Robot Chicken)
Seth Green’s fast-paced sketch series is one neverending, irreverent parody of various popular culture, but “Big Brother Horror Movie” is easily one of the best cuts from the entire series.
Showing iconic horror movie villains Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Pinhead engaging in domestic squabbles, and the catty tedium of the average Big Brother episode, the skit is a playful take on the horrors of reality programming.
“Walking Dead Chappelle’s Show” (SNL)
In this sketch starring Dave Chappelle Saturday Night Live delivered a pretty spot-on recreation of the notorious The Walking Dead scene in which Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) slaughters people with a baseball bat. Featuring beloved characters from The Chappelle Show such as Tyrone Biggums, Chuck Taylor, Clayton Bigsby, and Lil Jon as they beg not to be taken out, the skit was infinitely more entertaining than the scene it was parodying.
“Horror Movie Daycare” (College Humor)
Reimagining a whole host of spooky horror movie kids within the sweet, regimented confines of daycare, this College Humor sketch sees The Shining’s Danny Torrance forced to “socialise” with the undead twins of The Outlook Hotel, The Ring’s Samara refusing to give up on “TV time”, and the Necronomicon from The Evil Dead being used as the cosy book of choice for storytime.
“Sexy Vampires” (Key & Peele)
Poking fun at how vampire movies always portray their lead monsters as leather-bound, sex-crazed goths with a breathless love of kink, “Sexy Vampires” suggests not all blood-guzzlers are into all that vibe. Some of them might have just been bitten so they could “live forever and see future cars,” and want to be able to do so without all of that flesh action and gothic ceremony. Fair play!
“Vincent Price’s Halloween Special” (SNL)
Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins) plays the luminary horror icon in Saturday Night Live’s loving parody to the horror variety specials of the 50s & 60s. Featuring “special guests” Liberace (Fred Armisen), James Mason (Jon Hamm), and Gloria Swanson (Wiig, again) as they refuse to give up the glamor (and the booze), the sketch emphasizes the wondrous campy nature of horror shows from that era.
