I’ve noticed a trend in films in the last few years of ridiculous gore or comedic gore. Off the top of my The Lost City, Renfield, Violent Night, and Bullet Train have encapsulated this well.

Renfield is a modern exploration of Dracula told from the perspective of Renfield, Dracula’s daytime servant. The presence of Awkwafina as a main character gives way to the element of comedy. Meanwhile, Violent Night is about Santa taking down bad guys to save a little girl whose family had been taken hostage all because she still believed in him.

In both of these instances, the elements of comedy and gore were to be expected. Kind of a ‘does what it says on the tin’ situation.

BUT! I was not expecting comedic gore in The Lost City or Bullet Train. The former is a rom-com similar to the likes of Romancing the Stone in which a romance novelist finds herself on an adventure she didn’t want to take after being abducted by someone with more money than sense (though the twists this movie pulled were magnificent, and Daniel Radcliffe played the role of asshole villain beautifully).

Bullet Train I was expecting gore, because it’s an action flick about assassins and those tend to be gory. It’s cool, I actively signed up for it. It was the comedic aspect I wasn’t expecting at all.

I don’t think audiences were expecting it either, which accounts for the 4 star rating it received on Sky, but for me it was kinda the perfect movie at the perfect time in that I didn’t want something that required effort from me to enjoy it. It helps that I love stories that blend genres.

I know this isn’t exactly a new trend, but it’s been made to feel fresh again. It’s like grim fiction has become too much as the events of the world have grown so dismal, and now the movies and TV shows being made - the ones that give people a respite from reality - require a flash of comedy to break it up.

I can’t wait to discover other films like the ones listed here. Do you have any new favourites that fall in line with this trend?