Although I have not read it yet to either endorse or critique it, the book
Laughing Screaming: Modern Hollywood Horror & Comedy by William Paul seems
relevant.  He looks more at the generic overlaps between horror & comedy
rather than the genre mixing brought up in this thread, but it is certainly
useful.
 
As to the origins of the sub-genre, one film to consider is American
Werewolf in London, an early (1981) example of the success of this
sub-genre.  But the core examples (Dead/Alive, Re-animator, Evil Deads) of
this genre which Peter Jackson, Dead/Alive & Bad Taste director, terms
"splat-stick", involve much more gore & physical comedy than Werewolf or
Beetlejuice for instance.
 
Personally I think a key source for splat-stick filmmaking is animated
shorts, specifically Warner Brothers & Tex Avery, where excessive violence
& comedy are linked and the mauling of body parts has equally little effect
as the dismembering of zombies in Dead/Alive.
 
-Jason
 
----
To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L
in the message.  Problems?  Contact [log in to unmask]