Horror and comedy thrive on two sides of the same spectrum. Without digging too deep into genre theory, a huge amount of comedy comes from watching someone else suffer in amusing ways. Slapstick mines physical pain for laughs, satire makes mincemeat out of its subjects, and theater scholars have literally spent centuries debating whether comedy can exist without someone suffering as the punchline.
In film, the relationship is even tighter. After all, a cinema is built around timing and tension, but no two genres play with the sense of buld-up and release with such similar structure as horror and comedy. Whether it’s a scare set-piece or a great comedic bit, horror and comedy operate on pinpoint execution of mounting tension, precision timing, and ultimately, big payoff. In comedy, the payoff is a laugh. In horror, it’s screaming, jumping and wincing. But in a great horror-comedy, it’s both; a heady combination of physical and mental reaction that can make the scares scarier and the humor even funnier.
No wonder then that horror-comedy has long been one of the most popular and consistently high-quality subgenres in film. By combining the two, you end up with the perfect sleight of hand that makes each new trick pay off even better. Too busy laughing to remember to be scared? That’s when the perfect horror moment will pop up. Too scared to remember why you were laughing? Then it’s time for another bit of humor to let some of that tension out.
Without further ado, here are our picks for the greatest horror-comedies of all time, from the stone-cold classics to the newest gems of the 21st century.
Army of Darkness
Evil Dead 2orArmy of Darkness? Take your pick, they’re both iconic, downright hilarious films from horror iconSam Raimi. But for my money,Army of Darknessis easily one of the funniest movies of all time, which is why it nudged into this spot on the list.Bruce Campbellreturns as Ash, the long-suffering Deadite hunter who spent two films trapped in a cabin in the woods with the undead, and by now, he’s fully settled into the hamminess and physicality of the role, with the added bonus of an enhanced ego that makes Ash’s buffoonery all the more hilarious. Easily one of the most quotable horror films ever made, with fountains of blood and even more of the franchise’s signature stop-motion spookiness,Army of Darknessis an iconic benchmark of horror-comedy that’s arguably only bested by its own predecessors. –Haleigh Foutch
Re-Animator
If you love the otherworldly weirdness ofH.P. Lovecraftbut thought that dude should take himself a little less seriously sometimes,Re-Animatoris the antidote you need. Based on Lovecraft’s “Herbert West-Reanimator”, directorStuart Gordon’s mad scientist dark-comedy is an absolutely wild ride from start to finish, led by an electric lead performance byJeffrey Combsas the dead-obsessed doctor himself. With bubbling beakers and mysterious serums galore, this one is for fans ofFrankensteinandEvil Deadall at once. By the time it builds, body by body, to its zany climax, you’ll have a pretty good idea whyRe-Animatororiginally received an X-rating. –Vinnie Mancuso
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
They are not actually clowns (or klowns) but they are from outer space. When a group of aliens land on earth, they just happen to resemble clowns and their earthly pleasures a little too much. This includes “ships” that resemble circus tents, and guns that trap unwitting victims in cotton candy-like cocoons. The Klowns are instantly terrifying and hilarious. I don’t know how directorStephen Chiodoand his brother, writerCharles Chiodo, who both have a background in special effects work and puppetry, and who created the Klowns for this movie, managed it, but I want to both laugh at their antics, and scream at their hideous clown-like visages. It’s a brilliant vibe the brothers have going on for this cheesy 1980s throwback flick. -Alyse Wax
Before he transported audiences to Middle Earth,Peter Jacksonmade some of the weirdest, most wondrous genre films out there, and none more grotesque or hilarious than his 1992 slapstick splatter film,Dead Alive(akaBraindead).Timothy Balmestars as Lionel, a young man kept under the heavy thumb of his oppressive mother (Elizabeth Moody) until he falls in love. But just when he thinks he’s free, mother’s vengeance comes calling the form of a blood-soaked zombie outbreak that puts Lionel’s sudden hunger for independence to the ultimate test. With flourishes of stop-motion, an ungodly amount of on-screen blood, and one of the all-time best cringe-worthy gags in the iconic soup scene,Dead Aliveis one of the zaniest and most unhinged horror comedies of its time, culminating the lawnmower vs. zombie horde set-piece that ensured it would become a cult classic. –Haleigh Foutch
When your film is such an unapologetically scathing satire and critique of capitalist society, you’ve got to have some laughs. InJohn Carpenter’sThey Live,Roddy Piperplays Nada, a drifter who discovers a pair of sunglasses that lets him see the world as it really is: run by monsters with subliminal messages telling people to worship money and obey their leaders. Thankfully, you’ve also got great lines like, “I’ve come to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I am all out of bubblegum,” and all-time fistfight between Piper andKeith David. - Matt Goldberg
An American Werewolf in London
When you hear the nameJohn Landis,you might think of his notable 70s and 80s comedies, likeAnimal House,The Blues Brothers,and maybe evenTrading PlacesandComing to America. But for horror aficionados, another film will come to mind: The Oscar-winning horror-movie icon,An American Werewolf in London. This genre-bending classic spawned a sequel of sorts—An American Werewolf in Paris—which pales compared to the moonlit madness of the original.
The story follows two young American men, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne),backpacking their way through England when they’re attacked by a werewolf, killing Jack, and wounding and cursing David. That’s your basic werewolf curse mythology, but Landis takes it a step further: Each of the creature’s victims will exist in a state of reanimation (be sure to take a look at our best zombie movies, by the way) until the bloodline is extinguished. The undead Jack acts as a sort of conscience and sounding board for David, which is something rarely seen in horror films. But what makes this particular movie such a gruesome (and awesome) werewolf flick is the Oscar-winning effects work of the legendaryRick Bakerand his team. They still hold up today and are as bone-crunching and cringe-inducing as ever.– Dave Trumbore
Eating Raoul
Eating Raoulis one of the most gleefully immoral horror-comedies of all time. Though it’s not particularly gruesome as far as cannibal films go, the film centers on a drab, condescending married couple, appropriately named The Blands (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov), who have absolutely had it with the influx of swingers and degenerates in their apartment complex. When one said swinger gets aggressive with the wife, it sets off a chain of events that leads to a delightfully absurd and completely unhinged series of murders that culminate in a finely prepared people-meal. Eating Raoul is backed by moments of underplayed humor (See: Bartel snuggling a wine bottle pillow at night), an exploration of seedy sexual deviancy, and a quiet, wry wit that makes the film an absolute must-see. –Haleigh Foutch
This Is the End
From the minds ofSeth RogenandEvan GoldbergcomesThis Is theEnd;a laugh-a-minute movie about the end of the world. Starring Rogen,James Franco,Jonah Hill,Jay Baruchel,Danny McBride, andCraig Robinson, the story follows each of the actors playing fictional versions of their famous selves as they attempt to survive the end of the world, which kills all of their friends ― includingMichael Cera,Rihanna,Aziz Ansari, andKevin Hart— and later involves terrifying creatures rising up from the depth of hell to take them out. Oh, did I mention this is a funny movie? Because it is, with the hijinks unfolding as the guys are forced to wait out the first days of horror in Franco’s house. Things don’t go well as all of their big personalities and egos get in the way of a good time. They can’t ration, nor do they know how to forage for supplies, but somehow, things work out in the end. Now, how things work out, in the end, is another matter entirely and one you need to see for yourself.
This Is The Endis the quintessential horror-comedy for today’s viewers.This Is The Endhas a perfect blend of post-apocalyptic terror and gut-busting jokes that run the gamut of amusing to absurd to outrageous. Plus, the deep, deep bench of prominent comedic actors (and a surprise appearance from one very famous ‘90s boy band) serve this film well and make for one truly enjoyable viewing experience. –Allie Gemmill
This wickedly funny little creature feature should be mandatory viewing around every Christmastime. Or any time, really. There’s never really abadtime forGremlins, directorJoe Dante’s blast-and-a-half tale of Mogwai run amok. Well-meaning father Randall Petzer (Hoyt Axton) procures one of the fuzzy-faced little guys—Gizmo, an icon—for his son, repeating the three essential rules: Don’t get them wet, don’t expose them to bright light, and whatever you do, don’t feed them after midnight. Of course, rules are broken and shenanigans ensue.Gremlinsgets straightwacky, and thanks to some still-mesmerizing puppetry work the miniature monsters that cause mayhem in Kingston Falls are bursting with personality. But man, this movie is not afraid to get capital-d Dark. You’ll be thinking about that “chimney story” for a long, long time. –Vinnie Mancuso
The Final Girls
A heartwarming mother-daughter bonding drama by way of laugh-out-loud funny meta-slasher comedy,Todd Strauss-Schulson’sThe Final Girlsis an absolute gem of the horror-comedy genre.Taissa Farmigastars as Max Cartwright, a young woman grieving the loss of her mother (Malin Ackerman) — who also happened to be an 80s slasher scream queen — when she and her friends get sucked into one of her mom’s most beloved horror films.
The ensemble is a killer in its own right, includingAlia Shawkat,Thomas Middleditch,Nina Dobrev,Adam DevineandAngela Trimburin a scene-stealing role as a girl who just can’t stop sending out a siren’s call to the killer with her sexy dance moves. Meanwhile, Max can’t help but reconnect with the mother she lost while they head towards the inevitable showdown with the machete-wielding killer, the ensemble weaving in, out and around familiar genre tropes in their fight for survival. Innovative, hilarious, and touching,The Final Girl’sfinds a new avenue into the self-aware horror genre, literally taking us through the screen into the world of the peak 80s teen slashers we love so much and setting an updated story there that stands on its own. The kills are brutal, the laughs are abundant, and the heartwarming bits land with tear-jerking resonance, makingThe Final Girlsa horror-comedy must-watch and, for my money, one of the most underrated home runs you may have missed. —Haleigh Foutch
