Kate O’Flynn views comedy and horror as “kind of the same thing.” Both are at their best when they are surprised – laughter or fear from the outside is very offensive. That’s why, it stars a new horror-comedy hybrid Widow’s Baycombining species makes perfect sense – they enhance each other. “You’re not in a strong position,” he says. “Your guard is down, and you’re in danger of laughing or crying or screaming.”
Widow’s Baywhich begins airing on Apple TV on April 29th, tells the story of the titular island, located off the coast of New England. It has a rustic small town charm and happens to be definitely very haunted. Since the town was founded, there have been countless legends, and a possible curse where anyone born on the island cannot walk without dying. The town’s mayor, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), intends to revitalize the island and turn it into a tourist destination to rival Martha’s Vineyard. But in doing so he ignores the clear signs that something is wrong. In the first episode, for example, a bad fog is coming into the city, but Tom can only think about visiting. New York Times travel writer.
The show is the brainchild of showrunner Katie Dippold, who has a long track record in comedy, writing episodes of Crazy TV again Parks and Recreation and similar movies The heat and 2016 The Ghostbusters reboot. He has always been a fan of projects that successfully combine genres — the problem is that they are not common. “Many times I see a new horror-comedy and I don’t find the humor or the horror,” he explained. He quotes An American Werewolf in London as a personal favorite nailed the combination. He says: “I think about it all the time because it’s scary, but then they turn more into comedy.”
With Widow’s Bayhis goal was to make sure the two genres “could feed off each other, and never let the comedy take down the story or the tension. I never want to have a moment where something scary happens and the characters don’t respond truthfully. If you tell the truth, eventually you’ll get the comedy. That was the hard rule and the challenge of this.”
During its 10 episodes, Widow’s Bay morphs into almost a horror anthology of sorts. There is an overarching story of the city and its sordid history, but each episode explores subgenres tied to specific characters and stories. In one episode, Tom gets a crash course on all the various curses that have befallen Widow’s Bay when he stays in a haunted hotel where time moves differently. Later, there are episodes that evoke everything Midsommar to Friday the 13th a lot of Stephen King. That means killer loggers, sea witches, strange cultures, and yes, even the occasional serial killer. As things progress, and the mysteries of the island deepen and the tension becomes more intense, Dippold says that the elements of the comic are constructed in a straightforward manner. “I hope it will feel connected and like a relief,” she said.
For the cast, the task was the same: approach the show’s hybrid genre in a way that feels cohesive and cohesive. And doing that, they told me, mostly meant not thinking of species as separate entities. “I think Katie creates a real world with real people with real problems,” Rhys said. “The biggest thing is that it’s not distracting. It frees you from the pressure of playing any kind of music.” Stephen Root, who plays Tom’s rival, a local fisherman who strongly believes in curses, adds, “It’s not about playing comedy, or playing drama, or playing horror.
Dippold believes that having a background in comedy can prepare you for a great career in horror. After all, two of the most respected directors of this genre in the past few years – Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger – started sketch comedy before making similar films. No again Weapons. “There’s a sense of playfulness in those movies,” Dippold said. “I’m not saying that the scary parts are funny. I just enjoy it when the horror is more entertaining.”
Ultimately, the goal of both genres is the same: to elicit a visceral reaction from the audience. They often act differently, but the results can be almost the same. As O’Flynn notes, “When I’m scared, I laugh out loud. It comes out as a laugh. And for Dippold, when it comes to making a world and a story Widow’s Bayit was not so different from his previous work.
“When I see a good scene in a horror movie in the theater, I always laugh,” he says. “It’s almost like a well-crafted comedy. Writing a good comedy and doing a good horror story are two very different things, but they have the same power.”
