Horror movies and sports do not have a great deal of crossover unless it involves the traditional jock and cheerleader meeting a rather gruesome demise. They can flitter into the background at times, but on other occasions, they can work their way into the plot, even if it’s only in a passing glance.
Zombieland highlighted the importance of cardio as a key element of staying alive in a zombie apocalypse, but there is so much more to staying alive than that. We’ll now look at two films where sporting prowess has been involved in keeping some of our favorite characters alive.
Signs (2002)
M. Night Shyamalan directed and wrote the science-fiction horror movie starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. Gibson’s character Father Graham Hess notices a number of strange incidents in and around his farm with the appearance of crop circles and dark figures rustling in the fields at night. It is gradually revealed that aliens are invading Earth and Hess’ home is subject to an intrusion.
His brother Merrill, played by Phoenix, is a former semi-professional baseball player and uses his trusty old bat to confront the alien, eventually incapacitating it with a number of strikes before it is eventually killed by contact with water. Merrill’s performance was so good with the bat he could earn a shot with the Los Angeles, who are the leading contenders in the sports betting odds to win the MLB in the 2022 season. The ‘swing away’ comment in the movie was also parodied to great effect in Scary Movie 3.
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
In terms of movies that combine horror and comedy, Shaun of The Dead ranks very highly on the list of favorites. Simon Pegg takes on the lead role of Shaun alongside his mate Ed, played brilliantly by Nick Frost. Although it parodies Dawn of The Dead along with other zombie movies, it is a top film in its own right. We witness Shaun’s desperate attempt to keep his friends and loved ones alive in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.
Shaun and Ed’s first attempts at killing zombie invaders doesn’t go to plan, so he turns to a good old-fashioned cricket bat. Against all odds, it works and keeps Shaun alive until he comes up with the ingenious plan to rally his loved ones together under one roof.
Of course, it doesn’t quite work out that way, but we can laud Shaun’s ability with the bat, although we don’t think he will be receiving an England call-up anytime in the future. Shaun of Dead is certainly one of the best horror/comedy films of all time, and little touches of English culture such as the cricket bat have endeared to audiences all over the world.
These movies are two examples of where sports have ingrained themselves into the plot of the movie, and it just shows that a bit of prowess can get you a long way in the event of an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse.
