Some horror comedies are way more laughs than frights, making them perfect for horror fanatics, comedy lovers, and anyone who loves Halloween but hates being scared. While some horror comedies pack on equal scares, others feature zippy absurdity, clever satire, and campy sensibilities, and are a perfect gateway into the genre for non-horror fans that even the most easily terrified person can enjoy. Their ridiculous takes on dark subjects and common fears allow audiences to laugh at their worst nightmares.
From the best horror movies of all time to unearthed gems, films like Shaun of the Dead and Totally Killer canmix vampires, zombies, and even killers with non-stop laughs. They expertly fuse shock with rip-roaring laughs, proving that the best comedy can come from the most unexpected of places. Combining horror with comedy is not easy, but some films have succeeded at it.
10 Shaun of the Dead
Director Edgar Wright used his absurdist style to craft the spoof of the zombie movie genre Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead follows the title character, an aimless 30-something man who is forced to grow up and protect his friends, family, and girlfriend when London is taken over by the undead. Along the way, there’s a host of quirky side characters, exciting action sequences set to great tunes, sidesplitting physical comedy, and one hilariously inept main character just trying to make it out alive.
9 Totally Killer
One of Amazon Prime’s newest original movies is Totally Killer, an eccentric and joyous horror comedy that mixes the slasher and time-travel film genres. It follows Jamie, a 16-year-old girl who finds herself sent back in time to the 1980s, and to the week her town was ravaged by a string of murders that were never solved. The movie is a campy blast, playing on many ’80s movie tropes, including its clique of stereotypical high school mean girls (one of whom just so happens to be Jamie’s teenage mother). Totally Killer is a slasher and includes scary moments. However, it is essentially more of a comedy than a horror film.
8 Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
A series of confusions and assumptions leads a group of paranoid college kids on a camping trip to assume that two friendly hillbillies living in a nearby cabin are actually blood-thirsty murderers. As the students stage an attack on them, Tucker and Dale attempt to protect themselves, but each line of defense only instills further fear in the campers. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is an incredibly silly romp filled with ridiculous misunderstandings and larger-than-life characters that completely subverts expectations by flipping the script on redneck horror stereotypes.
7 Death Becomes Her
Death Becomes Her stars Meryl Streep as a superficial celebrity who steals her former friend’s husband (Bruce Willis, in a great performance against type as a nerdy plastic surgeon) in true prima donna fashion. Years later she reunites with her friend (Goldie Hawn), only to discover that she doesn’t seem to have aged a day, thanks to a mysterious drug which she also soon acquires. But immortality has a price in this campy tale of revenge, rivalry, and eternal beauty that combines comedy and horror very well.
6 What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows is a mock documentary following the lives of four housemates with big clashing personalities who just so happen to be blood-sucking vampires. Written, directed by, and starring Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, the film is a satirical take on the vampire genre, poking fun at their unexpectedly human personalities, and the unique struggles, and shockingly mundane activities they fill their time with. Far from scary, What We Do in the Shadows is pure unadulterated fun, and spawned an incredibly successful television series of the same name that is equally worth a watch.
5 Young Frankenstein
Comedy icon Mel Brooks directs this black-and-white tribute to classic horror fare, starring the legendary Gene Wilder as Frederick Frankenstein, a descendant of the famous scientist Dr. Frankenstein, as he attempts to recreate his grandfather’s experiments reviving the dead. Often ranked as one of the best comedy movies of all time, this hilarious send-up reimagines Mary Shelley’s original story as a witty and absurd parody, complete with one of cinema’s most iconic henchmen and an unforgettable scene featuring a singing, dancing monster.
4 Little Evil
Directed by Eli Craig, who also directed the brilliant aforementioned Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Little Evil stars Adam Scott as a man trying to bond with his new stepson who might just be the Antichrist. Scott is hysterical as always, as he attempts to convince his over-protective new wife that there is something seriously wrong with her beloved son. Little Evil is a film that hilariously twists a typical story of a parent trying to bond with an unruly child into something delightfully sinister, and pays off with oodles of laughs.
3 ParaNorman
Produced by Laika, the stop-motion animation company behind stunning and unique hit films like Coraline and The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman follows a lonely young boy named Norman who can communicate with the dead when he’s called upon to rescue his town from a 300-year-old witch’s curse. ParaNorman‘s stunning visuals, exciting story, and barrage of clever comedy earned it critical praise and an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. It is a unique and family-friendly adventure story with tons of laughs and a great message.
2 Idle Hands
Idle Hands follows a lazy teenage stoner whose hand becomes possessed with a murderous mind of its own. Despite initially bombing both with critics and at the box office, Idle Hands has developed a cult following, thanks to a raunchy and enjoyably juvenile sense of humor, not to mention its cast of some of the biggest 2000s stars before they were famous. Idle Hands is a fast-paced, slapstick-filled comedy that’s impossible not to enjoy.
1 Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
An underseen independent gem, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is another mockumentary, this time following one man’s attempts to emulate his slasher villain heroes in a world where horror villains are real historical figures. As the anything-but-frightening, nonchalant Leslie reveals his grisly plans to the camera crew, and takes them on his strict training regime, the film takes aim at overused horror tropes and the painfully stupid decisions of movie victims. It’s an insanely clever film that will delight viewers with its comedy and surprise them with its ingenious twists.
