Yesterday, I gave you the bottom half of the list of my favorite horror-comedies. Today, we're counting down the top 25. This is just a reminder from yesterday, but this is a highly subjective list. Hopefully, you'll find something here that will tickle and horrify you at the same time.
Dell's Top 25 Horror Comedies
25. Piranha 3D
(2010)
It knows that it's a remake of a Jaws rip-off, and doesn't mind one bit. It just goes full-on-nutty and fills every frame of itself with something titillating, gory, hilarious, or all three. And it never lets up. I know, you thought it was dumb. Lighten up. (Full Review)
24. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
(1948)
This is the oldest, and almost by default, most family friendly entry on the list. It’s one I grew up with and includes all of the Universal Studios classic monsters. In this case, it’s up to our pals Abbott and Costello to stop Dracula from taking over everything. And they do, with a comedic style all their own. (Full Review)
23. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
(2015)
Normally, I wouldn’t be too confident if my life depended on a trio of nearly adult boy scouts and a stripper, but that’s all we got as yet another zombie apocalypse breaks out. Lots of gross out humor, at times heavily featuring zombified private parts, straight gore, and some ingeniously employed pop-culture references make this one a treat. (Full Review)
22. Army of Darkness
(1992)
The last entry in the original Evil Dead trilogy really abandons any pretense of scaring us and just goes full tilt with the comedy. Our hero, Bruce Campbell, battles hordes of undead and does it in a way that causes hysteria.
21. Fright Night
(1985)
You might be wondering how this got here. The truth of the matter is that this is a spoof of all those late-night horror shows of the 1970s and 80s and their host. Witness the tongue-in-cheek performance of Roddy McDowall as evidence. You can also make note of how self-aware this movie is. These characters have seen plenty of vampire films and discuss them often. Unlike some other films here, this isn’t a laugh-a-minute joke fest, though. It’s subtler than that. The trick is that even though it gets in a few digs on vampires here and there, the film plays that part of it mostly straight. That means that while it’s slipping in punchlines, it’s just serious enough to that it works both sides of the fence equally well. (Full Review)
20. This is the End
(2013)
No, there are no zombies here. However, we are dealing with an apocalypse – the biblical one. I’d say that qualifies. We get a bunch of Hollywood A, B, C, and D-listers playing themselves at a party when hell quite literally breaks loose. Our main group of celebs, led by James Franco and Seth Rogen try to avoid eternal damnation. It mixes survivalist humor, profanity, and some sly commentary on society and religion to great effect. (Full Review)
19. From Dusk till Dawn
(1996)
Robert Rodriguez strikes again with his take on the whole secluded bar in the middle of nowhere trope. It's also Quentin Tarantino's take since he wrote the screenplay. In this case, the place is overrun with vampires, including the seductive as always Salma Hayek. Watching none other than George Clooney try to navigate this mess is thoroughly entertaining.
18. Zombieland
(2009)
This time, when the zombie apocalypse starts we follow Jesse Eisenberg as he tries to make it across the country to a safe area guarded by the U.S. military. Luckily, he’s not alone. He’s got three more with him, including a wonderfully unhinged Woody Harrelson. And I mean that in a good. Not for nothing, Bill Murray’s appearance here is my favorite cameo of all-time.
17. Death Becomes Her
(1992)
Two women have found the secret to eternal youth. Sorta. They’ve really become a pair of undead creatures who can’t stand each other and wage a catfight through the ages. Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep both play it to the hilt, giving some very underrated performances in a very underrated, and funny, movie.
16. Ghostbusters
(1984)
I am one of the few who like the remake. However, for this, I have to go with the original. It’s unquestionably a horror-comedy classic with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Sigourney Weaver doing some of their best, and most memorable, work. Now, sprinkle in some of the most magical moments in movie-making history.
15. Drag Me to Hell
(2009)
After refusing to give an old woman a loan extension on her house, our heroine is very much in danger of being literally dragged to Hell. It’s recession-angst wrapped in humor, and set on a breakneck pace. The laughs are uneasy as the film actually goes about the business of scaring you quite nicely. Director Sam Raimi may have cut his horror-comedy teeth on the Evil Dead franchise, but what he accomplishes here rivals anything else he has to offer.
14. Beetlejuice
(1988)
A couple that has just died is trying to haunt the new owners of the house they once lived in. But that’s not going too well, so they call on a specialist by the name of Beetlejuice. In the titular role, Michael Keaton completely owns the screen in what is his craziest, and arguably, his best performance. (Full Review)
13. Gremlins
(1984)
By now, you know what the three rules are for caring for mogwais. Needless to say, they get broken. When they do, the town is overrun by some pretty nasty little monsters with a bad disposition and far worse intentions. As innocent as it starts, it becomes a fantastic mash-up of 1950s and 1970s B-movie creature-features, spoofing the hell out of both all the way through.
12. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
(1987)
You may not have been looking for Freddy’s third tussle with the children of Elm Street, but rest assured this is pure comedy. Sure, Mr. Krueger is killing people left and right, and in some of the most inventive ways ever committed to film. At the same time, however, he’s doing some of the best schtick the genre has ever seen. He’s so good that the next couple of Elm Street flicks tried to recreate the magic by having Freddy give us a steady diet of one-liners with our murders.
11. Scream 2
(1997)
Sidney is off to college, but still can’t escape masked madmen who not only want to kill her, but tries to kill everyone around her in the process. Keeping in line with the self-aware style of the original, this one goes hard on sequels with characters rattling on about them as the events of the film seem to mirror the rules for them. The trick here is that while it is quite funny, it’s still a horror movie, and a damn good one.
10. Little Shop of Horrors
(1986)
Seymour is so in love with Audrey he names a rather special plant after her, calling it Audrey II. The problem is that Audrey II is an insatiably carnivorous plant with a nasty attitude. Rick Moranis is at his best and the script sizzles as it throws us from one musical number to the next. All the while we’re entertained by, and a bit afraid of, this gigantic talking plant. Steve Martin’s work is another of my all-time favorite cameos. Full confession, by the way, I still haven’t seen the original.
9. The Cabin in the Woods
(2011)
More teenagers go into the woods, only to start being slaughtered by a crazed lunatic. Like a number of movies on this list, it draws you in under the guise of being a straight-up horror flick, only to flip the switch on you. Only, this film does it more ways than one. When we realize it’s a joke, we think it’s just a spoof of slasher flicks. Before long, some commentary is made, just about every type of horror is incorporated and made fun of while the film still manages to keep our heart rates up. (Full Review)
8. Evil Dead II
(1987)
Teenagers…er…twenty-somethings…hanging out in a…um…cabin in the woods…find a mysterious and evil book. Before you know it, everything is trying to kill them, even the forest itself. The original Evil Dead contains some elements of dark humor, but is a pretty straightforward horror flick. The sequel, which actually plays like a funnier remake more so than a continuation of the story, is most certainly a horror-comedy. Lots of iconic moments come out of this one, both funny and terrifying.
7. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
(1975)
Some troubled travelers happen upon a house looking for help and get a whole lot more than they bargained for. It’s the second, and last, musical to make the list, and with good reason. It completely makes a joke out of all things macabre with one insanely memorable moment after another. And Tim Curry proudly owns the entire production.
6. Shaun of the Dead
(2004)
A slacker and his friends are forced to get their butts in gear when faced with, what else, a zombie apocalypse. Yes, it’s bloody and gory, but it’s also laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. The chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is out of this world good and the script almost never lets us breathe. When it comes to zom-coms, this is the gold standard. (Full Review)
5. An American Werewolf in London
(1981)
A couple of Americans are attacked by a werewolf. One survives, one doesn’t. The one that does has his world turned upside down as he goes through the process of becoming a werewolf himself. It’s a nice, even blend mix of horror and humor and some flat-out awesome practical fx. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better werewolf movie of any type, let alone one that makes us laugh as much as this one. (Full Review)
4. Get Out
(2017)
A young black man goes to meet the parents of his white girlfriend for the first time and finds himself in something akin to The Twilight Zone. It’s known for being a horror flick with a large dose of commentary on race relations in America. However, it’s also infused with plenty of satire and straight up comedy. If you don’t think this wonderful film isn’t trying to make you laugh as it wrecks your nerves, please watch it again. (Full Review)
3. Carrie
(1976)
Okay, you understood about Get Out, but this is really pushing it, right? You probably know it’s about a bullied girl who gets her period and telekinetic powers at the same time. And there’s that legendary prom scene. Pure horror flick. I get it. I also get that I view this movie differently than most people. Most is the operative word. I’ll get back to that. Thing is, the interactions between Carrie and her ultra-religious mom, and the very character of the mom herself, are so over-the-top, so ridiculous, it seems as if the director is making sure we know this whole situation is one hundred percent preposterous. While watching this movie again recently, I didn’t doubt for one second I was watching a very dark comedy. And you know what? I’m not alone in that assessment (told you I would get back to that “most”). None other than Piper Laurie, the woman who plays the mom, agrees with me. She is on record saying, “Our movie always seemed like lyrical black comedy.” Why yes, Ms. Laurie, it is. (Full Review)
2. Young Frankenstein
(1974)
When Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, he pronounces it FRONK-EN-STEEN, inherits his grandfather Victor’s estate, he goes to Transylvania to find it’s a castle complete with its own staff. Before you know it, Frederick is trying to replicate and improve his granddad’s work of reanimating a corpse cobbled together from a number of dead bodies. We get a relentless spoof of 1931’s Frankenstein that’s more consistently funny than any other movie on this list. To achieve this, it mixes the incredibly witty with the seriously dumb to give us one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences we’ve ever had. And for my money, the late-great Gene Wilder has never been better. (Full Review)
1. Scream
(1999)
As would happen to her three more times, all of her friends and acquaintances start getting murdered one by one. I’ve professed my love for this movie a number of times on this blog. That love is twofold. On one hand, it’s pulls off the difficult trick of not just being self-aware, but actually pointing out all the tropes the genre is known for and that it will use in the very film you’re watching. And somehow, this works. By the end, Scream has done everything with wink and a nod. On the other hand, it never sacrifices genuine chills for humor. The two work hand in hand to enhance each other. This is what puts in the top spot over Young Frankenstein. As great as that movie is, it never bothers trying to scare us. Scream does. This makes the film work on a number of levels. It also works because it does what a good spoof does. It gives us a film that needles the thing it’s parodying as its own story fits snugly into the same genre. And this, people, is also why Scary Movie is not on this list. That movie does none of those things. It just reenacts everything Scream or some other movie already did and adds something gross and goes on to the next scene. In other words, it pointlessly spoofs what’s already a spoof. And a far superior one, at that.Check Out These Horror-Themed Lists
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