Every year, I do at least one list during my 31 Days of Horror. This year, I noticed that a lot of the horror I've been watching has had a comedic thread running through it. So, I figured why not list my favorite horror-comedies of all-time. That's easier said than done. I tend to stick with a hard 13 for these October lists, but as I got busy making this one, I just couldn't stop there. Hell, I had a hard time stopping at all. Since I had to stop somewhere, I finally cut myself off at 50. Then I allowed myself a couple more. Today, I'm only giving you the bottom half of the list. We'll close out the month by finishing this up tomorrow.
To make this list, a movie has to be both a horror flick and a comedy. By horror, it doesn't necessarily have to try to scare the viewer. However, it does have to deal with traditional horror themes, and/or horror characters. In other words, if a film has a vampire, werewolf, or zombie I'm willing to call it horror. By comedy, I mean it has to try to make me laugh on purpose. The operative word here is 'me.' Yup, I'm the sole judge on what constitutes a comedy. If I feel a film's status as a comedy is questionable, I'll explain it. And there are a number of them. Finally, just to let you know, this list is highly subjective. Deal with it. That's why I labeled it "favorite." Enough of this, let's get started.
Dell's Favorite Horror-Comedies
Just missed the cut
Even with a list as lengthy as this one, there are some movies that were just on the outside looking in. They are (in alphabetical order): Once Bitten (1985), ParaNorman (2012), Santa's Slay (2005), WolfCop (2014), Zombeavers (2014).
52. Severance
(2007)
Employees of a weapons manufacturer are sent on a weekend retreat for some team-building fun. Soon enough they start being slaughtered one-by-one.
51. The Babysitter
(2017)
This is newest film to make the list, having just been released within the last few months. Still, it earns its spot by giving us a kid we can root for, and violence so over the top you can't help but laugh at it. (Full Review)
50. Killer Klowns From Outer Space
(1988)
Like the title says, it's all about killer klowns from outer space. And when they get here, they start killing up folks in ways so silly we must laugh even though these same things would haunt our childhood dreams - with giant mallets, and balloon animals that spring to life.
49. Feast
(2005)
A bunch of locals suddenly find themselves trapped in a secluded bar, having to fight off some ravenous monsters that would love nothing more than to eat them. It doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs, and indeed it takes its gore seriously, but it keeps a steady stream of jokes going.
48. Love at First Bite
(1979)
In this version of the story of Dracula, the count has been forced out of Transylvania and comes to New York to find his bride. George Hamilton gives an underrated comedic performance in the lead role.
47. Slither
(2006)
This loving spoof of both 1950s B-movies and zombie flicks gives us a nasty, but fun time as it chronicles a small town taken over by some strange plague. Come for the slimy, slithering monsters, stay for the relentless gross-out humor.
46. Big Ass Spider!
(2013)
A mutated spider is on the loose in Los Angeles and it's continuously growing. We have a blast watching this thing rip up the city. It all adds up to a humorous love letter monster flicks. (Full Review)
45. Dead Snow
(2009)
A group of college kids on winter break head off to a secluded cabin and soon find themselves dealing with zombies who were once World War II zombies. It's a Norwegian film that uses zombies to spoof 1980s American slasher flicks. And it does it quite nicely. (Full Review)
44. Krampus
(2015)
When a young boy tears up his letter to Santa, Krampus is the creature that comes to punish his whole family for losing the Christmas spirit. It's a dark comedy that should make for some late night holiday season viewing.
43. Tremors
(1990)
In another homage to 1950s B-movies, we happen upon a small town suddenly overrun, or underrun with gigantic man-eating worms. Both frightening and hilarious, it makes a perfect popcorn-muncher.
42. Housebound
(2014)
A young woman gets busted after botching a robbery and is sentenced to house arrest with her estranged mom. In short order, she finds out the place is haunted. What makes it a wonderful horror-comedy is the fact that it takes us a while to catch on to the joke, yet it's always a fun time. (Full Review)
41. Cooties
(2014)
One of the fourth graders unwittingly eats a contaminated chicken nugget and before you know it, all the kids in school are transforming into zombies. A small group of teachers, with a couple students, are trying to survive and figure a way out of school. Their horror is our humor.
40. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
(2016)
This is what you get when you take a classic novel and do little more than insert zombies wherever possible. That's all this movie does and it's a brilliant move. Now, only if Jane Austen herself had figured this out I might actually like her books. Instead, this will do nicely. (Full Review)
39. The Witches of Eastwick
(1987)
Three women find out together that they are witches. However, they're not the bad guys here. That honor belongs to the rather shady man that has drifted into town. It's Jack Nicholson squaring off with Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher, and Susan Sarandon in an intensely witty film.
38. Deathgasm
(2015)
Some young boys who have formed a heavy metal band have gotten their hands on some evil music. Literally. Every time they play it, hell breaks loose all over town. It goes after horror tropes and metal culture alike with equal aplomb making for an outrageously enjoyable movie. (Quick & Dirty review)
37. Jason X
(2001)
I could have put a number of Friday the 13th movies on this list, but there is a reason I chose this one. Starting with Friday the 13th Part III almost all of the entries in the canon have an element of dark humor and self-parody running through them. However, shooting Jason off into space gives the series a chance to take a hard look at itself and really chuckle. We willingly oblige.
36. Scream 4
(2011)
Sidney returns to Woodsboro, and just like old times, everyone around her starts getting slaughtered. Horror master Wes Craven sends up the slasher genre one last time and gives us one of his most underrated movies. (Full Review)
35. Frankenweenie
(2012)
Victor Frankenstein is a loner who manages to resurrect his dog after it gets hit by a car and killed. All the neighborhood kids then try to reanimate something since the school science fair is coming up. Despite the macabre subject matter, this is a light-hearted comedy that pays homage to the entire cinematic history of horror. (Full Review)
34. Creepshow
(1982)
This is the only anthology to make the list, and with good reason. Each part of this film is an exercise in extremely dark humor. And they all hit the spot. It's the brainchild of Stephen King who himself stars in the second segment.
33. Snakes on a Plane
(2006)
The title alone is enough to elicit a chuckle. Once you get past that, it's Samuel L. Jackson on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, trying to get a witness in a case against a major bad guy to court. This bad guy doesn't blow the plane up, or send goons with guns. He loads it with poisonous snakes and gory comedy ensues. At some iconic point, Jackson lets us know he's had enough.
32. The Monster Squad
(1987)
It's the classic kiddie-horror flick that sees a Spielberg inspired group of kids trying to keep Count Dracula from taking over the world. It doesn't help matters that Dracula has The Wolf Man, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein's Monster with him. It's still a blast finding out that The Wolf Man has nards. (Full Review)
31. Warm Bodies
(2013)
Let's take Romeo & Juliet and adapt it to fit the zombie apocalypse. It works better than it has any right to precisely because it never forgets just how ridiculous it is. Though derivative in plot, it's execution makes it one of the most original zombie movies ever made. (Full Review)
30. Planet Terror
(2007)
Director Robert Rodriguez's half of Grindhouse is the far superior one. It's about a zombie outbreak and stars Rose McGowan with a machine gun for a leg. Everything is thrown at the wall and you're either laughing or picking your jaw up off the floor.
29. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
(2010)
A group of college kids on a vacation in the woods only to encounter Tucker and Dale. We know what they don't know, that Tucker and Dale are just a couple of harmless hillbillies. Nonetheless, the kids keep getting killed one by one. The strength of this spoof of slasher flicks lies in the fact that it's all a big misunderstanding. (Full Review)
28. Re-Animator
(1985)
Herbert West has come up with a serum that reanimates corpses and uses it on his former professor. Thing is, he used too much and things are going haywire. It's a balls-to-the-wall zombie comedy built on a fantastic performance by Jeffrey Combs.
27. What We Do in the Shadows
(2014)
This mockumentary follows a group of vampires living as roommates in an apartment in Wellington. They get into arguments over stuff like who's turn it is to watch the dishes and learn how to use the internet. It's a brilliant addition to vampire lore.
26. The Final Girls
(2015)
The teens in this 21st century flick somehow find themselves trapped inside a slasher flick from the 1980s. Their quest to escape has the film spoof just about every genre trope there is and still manages to have a heart.Check out these other horror-themed lists:
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