How Genres Work and Why The Horror Musical | Page 7

put a far more sinister spin on the
whole plot.

There is no gratuitous violence, no stalking scenes, or blade
wielding psycho. Rather, the staples
that we are used to seeing in our favourite horror flicks, quietly make
there way into the music packed
scenes. For example, our two victims, Brad and Janet, find themselves stranded due to car trouble
with only the large very haunted
looking mansion to seek shelter in.
This classic setting sets the tone for
the upcoming romp that pushed
a lot of people to their comfort
boundaries.

When you perceive the film
as a parody, the horror aspects seem
fun and ridiculous. For example
when Meat Loaf ’s biker character
comes to the mansion looking for
his girlfriend, he is promptly killed
with a pick axe (off screen). Shortly
after, the group sits down for dinner whose main course is some sort
of mystery meat. While this is funny, if we adopt Tim Curry’s mentality of making the characters real,
we find ourselves in a truly horrific
situation…with singing!