13 Movie Satire That Achieves Balance

      In celebration of the brand-new Companion, we present 13 movie satires that excel in duality.

      What do we mean by duality? We refer to films that humorously critique a subject while simultaneously excelling in that very subject — such as a parody of action-packed thrillers that is also a proficient action-packed thriller, or a parody of horror films that genuinely delivers actual horror.

      With this in mind, here are 13 movie satires that skillfully navigate both realms.

      **Kentucky Fried Movie**

      United Film Distribution Company

      Kentucky Fried Movie is the film that launched the careers of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker, the creative minds behind Airplane! and The Naked Gun series. It features a series of spot-on movie parodies—essentially poking fun at every popular genre of the 1970s.

      The most exaggerated is a spoof of sexploitation films that, at the young age we first watched it, was likely the most scandalous thing we had encountered. It showcases various shocking perversions and is quite explicit. While it is humorous, it also has a distinctly risqué quality.

      It continues to perplex us.

      **Robocop (1987)**

      Orion Pictures – Credit: C/O

      Paul Verhoeven is a master at creating movie satires that possess duality. The Dutch director arrived in the United States in the '80s and quickly aimed to surpass the extreme sex and violence he saw in American films.

      Robocop stands out as a brilliant satire—it resonates with audiences' desires for tough-on-crime fantasies while highlighting that corporate, mechanized law enforcement may be more perilous than the crime itself.

      It presciently addressed the possible drawbacks of AI-driven law enforcement—does anyone truly want to be stopped by a drone? — and arguably forecasted the emergence of the for-profit prison industry.

      At the same time, it's an incredibly entertaining film about a half-man, half-robot working to rid New Detroit of its criminal element. It ranks among our all-time favorite films.

      **Starship Troopers**

      TriStar Pictures

      Starship Troopers, another film by Verhoeven, achieved its satire so effectively that some critics failed to recognize it as satire.

      Janet Maslin from The New York Times, for instance, wrote dismissively, “Where exactly are the hordes of moviegoers who will exclaim: ‘Great idea! Let’s go see the one about the cute young co-ed army and the big bugs from space.’”

      Yes, Starship Troopers is the finest movie ever made about a cute co-ed army and giant space bugs. Yet it also relentlessly lampoons jingoistic, hollow patriotism and our tendency to dehumanize those we disagree with.

      **Scream**

      Drew Barrymore in Scream. Dimension Films – Credit: C/O

      Written by Kevin Williamson and directed by horror master Wes Craven, Scream deconstructs slasher films while delivering top-notch thrills and kills.

      It transformed the horror genre forever, and for the better: it became nearly impossible to create an unironic slasher film after Scream established the expectation of having at least one character in any group of slasher movie friends who would call out clichés they should avoid.

      Now even films that present themselves earnestly enter into a sort of agreement with the audience: we all recognize these tropes. Here’s how this movie will subvert them.

      **Slumber Party Massacre (1982)**

      New World Pictures – Credit: C/O

      While Scream may exemplify the slasher movie satire that achieves duality best, Slumber Party Massacre was the trailblazer. The first of four films in the franchise (including two sequels and a reboot) was penned by lesbian feminist author Rita Mae Brown, who aimed to satirize slasher films rather than celebrate them.

      Under the keen direction of Amy Holden Jones, Slumber Party Massacre emerged as one of the finest slasher films ever made, simultaneously serving as a knowing commentary on popular films of that era, including Friday the 13th.

      It also captures early '80s Southern California—where we spent our childhood watching movies we weren’t meant to see—with astonishing accuracy.

      The following installment, Slumber Party II, delves even further into satire with a villain (Atanas Ilitch) who dances like a fusion of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson while wielding a drill-shaped red electric guitar to commit murders.

      **American Psycho (2000)**

      Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Lionsgate – Credit: Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, Lionsgate

      Another one of our all-time favorite films, American Psycho serves as a sharp critique of '80s yuppie culture while also portraying it as… quite glamorous, actually—aside from the chainsaw murders, of course.

      Christian Bale portrays Wall Street serial killer Patrick Bateman as anything but cool