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Combining humor and fear, which are inherently opposite, into a cohesive artistic work is both terrifying and amusingly challenging. The finest horror-comedy films present our deepest fears while simultaneously toying with them, forcing us to reevaluate our emotional reactions to everything from supernatural witches to extraterrestrial flora and reanimated entities creeping toward us.
Filmmakers who excel at blending scares and laughs often place comedic characters in faux peril, cleverly parody common horror clichés, or channel the adrenaline from fear into the catharsis of hearty laughter. Perhaps fear and humor are indeed a perfect match.
Whether you're looking to laugh or scream, these horror-comedy films offer the best of both worlds.
1. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
This dark comedy, featuring Cary Grant, is so hilariously crafted that it’s easy to overlook the fact that his character’s charming aunts are essentially akin to Ted Bundy. With Peter Lorre adding a touch of horror credibility, the film cleverly challenges our assumptions about who can be a terrifying serial killer—whether it’s the wild-eyed lunatic or the sweet elderly woman lacing her elderberry wine with poison. Filming was briefly halted after the Pearl Harbor attack, as director Frank Capra was called back to active duty in the U.S. Army with just a week of shooting remaining.
2. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
The iconic comedy pair portray baggage handlers who deliver a package to McDougal's House of Horrors, only to encounter Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man (played by Glenn Strange, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr., reprising their classic Universal monster roles). True to Abbott and Costello’s style, they brought in Bobby Barber as the on-set prankster, whose antics and intentional blunders kept the cast and crew in high spirits. This was especially helpful, as Costello despised the script and was reluctant to participate in the film.
3. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Vincent Price gives a brilliantly over-the-top performance as a disfigured doctor seeking vengeance on the medical team he blames for his wife’s death, drawing inspiration from the Biblical Plagues of Egypt. The inventive kills (including the only Death By Frog Mask in horror history) could have been terrifying, but the film’s campy tone, led by Price, shifts it into darkly comedic territory. Interestingly, the vampire bats used in one scene were actually gentle flying foxes more interested in the craft service table’s fruit than the actors’ blood.
4. Young Frankenstein (1974)
Mel Brooks’s comedic take on the classic tale of reanimating life with lightning and spare body parts became a landmark in parodying horror stories. Known for its endlessly quotable lines (Blücher!), it not only revitalized horror-comedy but also inspired Aerosmith’s hit song "Walk This Way."
5. Hausu (House) (1977)
Seven schoolgirls visit a haunted house, only to meet their demise at the hands of a carnivorous piano, a murderous mirror, and a sinister cat. Nobuhiko Obayashi’s intentionally bizarre film features deliberately cheesy effects, absurdly creative kills, and a plot that feels like a giallo-inspired fairy tale. While Obayashi directed the film, many of its wildest ideas, including the house devouring the girls, came from his 11-year-old daughter, Chigumi.
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6. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
John Landis’s story of a stranger in a strange land takes a wild turn when the protagonist transforms into a monstrous werewolf under the full moon, accompanied by a ghostly, mutilated friend. The film masterfully balances comedy and horror, supported by Rick Baker’s groundbreaking, Oscar-winning makeup effects. Ironically, while the film earned accolades, star David Naughton lost his Dr Pepper spokesperson role—not due to the film’s gore, but because of his nude scenes. As the Dr Pepper Museum tactfully explains, "This role highlighted Naughton’s versatility as an actor, presenting him in a way that starkly contrasted his cheerful Dr Pepper persona."
7. Evil Dead II (1987)
While the original 1981 film was a low-budget gorefest with plenty of humor, the sequel is where Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell truly embraced the absurd. Ash returns to the cursed cabin, now armed with a chainsaw for a hand, battling possessed deer heads, rebellious disembodied hands, and rivers of blood. This horror-comedy gem wouldn’t exist without Raimi’s resourcefulness and a crucial endorsement from Stephen King, who persuaded producer Dino De Laurentiis to fund the project. Groovy indeed.
8. Re-Animator (1985)
Stuart Gordon transformed a lackluster H.P. Lovecraft story into the wildly unique Re-Animator, a chaotic and irreverent take on the Frankenstein mythos. The film follows medical student Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) as he injects green serum into corpses and body parts, reviving them in grotesque fashion. This outrageous, gory, and darkly hilarious film captures the essence of Splatstick, blending genuine horror with absurdity. One particularly infamous scene, involving a severed head and Scream Queen Barbara Crampton, reportedly caused David Gale’s wife to leave the theater in disgust and refuse to return home.
9. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Dan O’Bannon’s parody of zombie films turns George A. Romero’s tense survival narrative into a raucous celebration. This punk-inspired take revels in the absurdity of the undead clumsily pursuing human brains. Notably, the idea that zombies crave brains originated here, diverging from Romero’s canon. O’Bannon even suggests that consuming brains provides pain relief for the zombies, adding a darkly comedic twist to the lore.
10. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Frank Oz’s musical horror spectacle features Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, alongside a talented ensemble of SNL alumni, as they sing their way through the story of a man-eating plant. Steve Martin steals scenes as a deranged, sadistic dentist, delivering a performance only he could pull off with such wacky menace. The film’s original, darker ending—where Audrey II devours the main characters and alien plants conquer the world—was ultimately cut, sparing audiences a more apocalyptic conclusion.
11. The Monster Squad (1987)
Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad might seem like a knockoff of other kid-centric adventures, but it’s a heartfelt tribute to classic horror. Featuring reimagined Universal Monsters and the crude humor of its young cast, the film pits a group of kids against iconic creatures like Dracula, who are plotting world domination. Duncan Regehr’s chillingly earnest portrayal of Dracula stands out, a role he narrowly won over a then-unknown Liam Neeson.
12. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)
Cassandra Peterson’s Elvira, a horror icon born from her love of the genre and her signature look, stars in this campy comedy. After ditching plans for a sitcom, Peterson convinced NBC to produce a film where Elvira shakes up a prudish small town with her bold personality and revealing outfits. The movie blends humor, a villainous warlock, and a grotesque casserole with moments of genuine horror, as the town’s hostility toward Elvira escalates. Though her TV pilot never became a series, it’s now available to watch online.
13. The 'Burbs (1989)
While other films mined suburban life for horror, The 'Burbs finds comedy in Tom Hanks’s escalating paranoia about his mysterious neighbors. Hanks, Carrie Fisher, and the cast deliver a hilarious yet unsettling exploration of whether the neighbors are truly dangerous or if Hanks’s character is simply overreacting. Filmed during the 1988 writers’ strike, the actors had significant freedom to improvise, as writer Dana Olsen couldn’t contribute on-set ideas.
14. Tremors (1990)
In the remote desert town of Perfection, Nevada, two handymen (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) and a quirky group of locals face off against giant, flesh-eating sandworms. As they uncover the creatures’ abilities, their quiet desert life becomes a perilous game of survival. A cult classic, Bacon admitted that filming Tremors gave him recurring nightmares, where he’d sleepwalk while carrying his wife Kyra Sedgwick, convinced he was saving her from unseen monsters.
15. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994)
This unconventional Italian masterpiece stars Rupert Everett as a cemetery caretaker who prefers shooting reanimated corpses over dealing with bureaucratic red tape. A surreal blend of horror and romance, the film, titled Of Death, of Love in English, follows Everett’s character through love, loss, and the occasional zombie shootout. Based on a novel by Tiziano Sclavi, creator of the cult comic Dylan Dog (inspired by Everett), the film is as dreamlike as it is bizarre.
16. Scream (1996)
While most horror-comedies lean into camp or parody, Scream stands out as both a brilliant horror film and a sharp satire of the genre. Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, it combines meta-commentary with genuine scares and character-driven humor. Ghostface’s ineptitude as a killer adds a unique twist, and the film’s iconic opening scene, featuring Drew Barrymore, subverts expectations by killing off a major star early—a decision Barrymore herself suggested to heighten the shock.
17. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Bruce Campbell plays Elvis Presley, and Ossie Davis portrays JFK in this bizarre tale of two nursing home residents battling an ancient soul-stealing mummy. Don Coscarelli’s film, a quirky meditation on aging and purpose, takes its absurd premise seriously, creating a low-budget cult classic. Clever workarounds, like avoiding Elvis’s expensive music and using lookalike clips, add to the film’s charm.
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
It’s hard to believe Edgar Wright’s groundbreaking zombie comedy is nearly two decades old. Packed with pop culture nods, the film follows Simon Pegg as a directionless man navigating a zombie apocalypse with his slacker best friend Ed (Nick Frost), his ex-girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), and a group of friends determined to wait out the chaos at their local pub. Wright’s inclusion of a Cornetto in the film? A nod to its real-life role as his go-to hangover remedy.
19. Jennifer's Body (2009)
Following the success of Juno, Diablo Cody penned this darkly comedic tale of two high school friends. After Jennifer (Megan Fox) is sacrificed to Satan and transformed into a succubus, her shy friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) must stop her from preying on their classmates. Blending Cody’s sharp dialogue, dark humor, and a satirical take on horror tropes, the film also reflects Fox’s personal struggles, as she likened the sacrifice scene to how Hollywood exploited her.
20. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
What if the clueless teens in a slasher flick are so terrified of two harmless, scruffy hillbillies that they accidentally off themselves? Eli Craig’s clever film mines this brilliant premise for endless laughs, as Tucker and Dale (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) grow increasingly baffled by the city kids who keep meeting gruesome fates near them. The DVD release even includes an alternate version of the story, told from the perspective of the ill-fated teens.
21. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Drew Goddard’s genre-defying horror film is perfect for those who claim to dislike scary movies. While it starts with the familiar setup of college kids facing a deadly threat at a remote cabin, the twist lies in the behind-the-scenes orchestration by a corporate office, offering a witty critique of horror clichés. Goddard drew inspiration from his childhood in Los Alamos, where scientists casually worked on world-ending weapons.
22. The Final Girls (2015)
Todd Strauss-Schulson’s film pays homage to 1980s slashers while delivering a heartfelt story. When a group of teens is transported into a camp slasher movie, Max (Taissa Farmiga) reunites with a fictional version of her late mother (Malin Ackerman), who starred in the film. Balancing humor and genuine stakes, the movie features standout performances from Adam Devine, Alia Shawkat, Nina Dobrev, and Thomas Middleditch. Co-writer Joshua Miller drew from his own grief over losing his father, Jason Miller of The Exorcist fame, to craft the story.
23. The Love Witch (2016)
Anna Biller’s vibrant homage to 1960s technicolor horror stars Samantha Robinson as Elaine, a modern-day witch in California who uses love potions to enchant men, only to grow weary of their clinginess. The film, a surreal critique of dating culture, draws inspiration from classic Hollywood films and self-help books that warn women against pursuing their desires. Biller told Little White Lies, "I wanted to explore the idea that a woman’s love could be so toxic it becomes lethal."
24. Happy Death Day (2017)
Sorority girl Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) faces a nightmare: a slasher kills her, only for her to relive the same day repeatedly. Blending Groundhog Day with slasher thrills, the film balances dark humor with genuine tension, heightened by the eerie baby face mask designed by Tony Gardner, the mind behind Scream’s Ghostface.
25. Little Monsters (2019)
What do you call a film where a teacher and her kindergarten class flee from ravenous zombies? Whimsical, perhaps? Lupita Nyong’o stars as the dedicated teacher, chaperoning her young students on a farm field trip, where they cross paths with the obnoxious children’s entertainer Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad). When zombies attack, alliances form, true colors are revealed, and the chaos is delightfully absurd. Nyong’o even learned to play the ukulele for her role, as director Abe Forsythe insisted, "You can win an Oscar, you can learn to play the ukulele."
