There are many ways to make a horror film. It can be a bloody slasher, a creative folk horror recurring to audiences' most primitive fears, or a grotesque body horror twisting and contorting viewers' minds. Among these genres, one stands out among the most fun and exciting: Campy horror movies.

These are the kinds of films that are absurd, exaggerated, overly stylized, and—if done right—as funny as they can be scary. They can be full-on comedies poking fun at genre conventions like The Cabin in the Woods, or gory horror movies with just a healthy dose of camp sprinkled in, like The Evil Dead. Often, they become unforgettable cult classics.

Updated on September 23, 2023, by Diego Pineda Pacheco:

So far, 2023 has been a pretty good year for horror movies. Fans of campy horror in particular have been treated to instant cult classics like M3GAN, proving that those who enjoy the genre are always eager to experience a film that's as scary as it is silly and fun.

18 'Sleepaway Camp' (1983)

One of the most infamous cult classic slashers ever made, as well-known for its controversial ending as it is for its contributions to the genre, Sleepaway Camp is a must-see for horror fans. It's about a shy young girl who's sent to summer camp, where anyone with sinister intentions toward her gets their comeuppance.

Whether you love or hate the ending, it's hard to deny that Sleepaway Camp is an unforgettable experience. Just like its title would suggest, it has camp to spare, which makes it all the more shocking when it takes a series of dark turns.

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17 'Leprechaun' (1993)

There are multiple reasons why you'd want to watch Leprechaun: A cheesy so-bad-it's-good tone that's very easy to enjoy, a silly villain with an exorbitantly high kill count, and Jennifer Aniston's first big role are but a few.

Prior to spanning a long-running campy franchise that was very much aware of its dumbness, the people behind the first Leprechaun actually seem to have felt that they were making a proper scary movie. While there are admittedly some creepy elements in the film, it's best suited for you to sit down with your friends for an hour and a half to have a few good laughs.

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16 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' (1959)

Ed Wood is typically regarded as the single worst filmmaker of all time, and all it takes is one look at Plan 9 from Outer Space to see why. A strange blend of horror and sci-fi, it's about evil aliens attacking Earth and setting a terrible plan into action.

If you enjoy campy scary movies, Plan 9 should be right up your alley. The fear factor is pretty much gone by now (if it ever was there in the first place), but reveling in the dumbness of the story and the impressive technical incompetence of everyone involved never ceases to be an absolute delight.

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15 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space' (1988)

Killer Klowns from Outer Space, about aliens shaped like clowns who terrorize a small town, is the kind of movie that will have you constantly wondering who came up with the idea and why no one stopped them.

If the cult following that the film has garnered over the years is any indication, then the world is lucky that no one told the Chiodo brothers, the American filmmaking trio behind this classic, that their idea was just a little bit too silly. Killer Klowns is intense, ridiculous, and an awful lot of fun. It's the kind of film that'll show you why audiences love some ridiculous horror movies.

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14 'Death Becomes Her' (1992)

Robert Zemeckis tends to be a pretty hit-or-miss director, and although Death Becomes Her (about a fading actress who discovers an immortality treatment) wasn't particularly well-received at the time of its release, audiences today have grown largely fond of it.

Goofy, clever, and undeniably funny, the movie sports a creative satirical critique of show business, as well as Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawk in one of the most entertaining performances of their respective careers. It's not a comedy suited for everyone's sense of humor, but it's very much worth watching to see if it's your kind of thing.

13 'Rubber' (2010)

There's a certain charm in ludicrous low-budget horror B-movies, and few are as self-aware and delightful as Quentin Dupieux's Rubber, about a homicidal tire named Robert who goes on a rampage through a desert town.

If the movie's premise sounds ridiculous, that's because it is, in the best possible way. It's a hilarious slasher satire full of meta-humor and wild amounts of creativity, proving that no one understands absurdist comedy quite like Dupieux.

12 'The Blob' (1988)

A remake of a less successful 1958 horror sci-fi film, 1988's The Blob follows a deadly blob spawned by a secret government project, which consumes everyone in its path.

Written by the same Frank Darabont who directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, The Blob is full of winks to classic horror that fans of the genre will adore. Fully aware of its ridiculous nature, the film wears its camp on its sleeve and uses it to deliver a fun, gory experience unlike any other.

11 'M3GAN' (2023)

It's no surprise that a camp-fest as fun and fresh as M3GAN became the Internet sensation that it did when it came out. It's a clever, purely fun story about a life-like doll programmed to bond with her creator's newly orphaned niece.

Killer doll movies tend to be pretty hit-or-miss, but M3GAN is definitely one of the stronger ones. It's fully aware of how ridiculous it can be, resulting in the most delightful mixture of comedy and horror. It's one of the best horror films of 2023 thus far, and a really entertaining experience.

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10 'Dead Alive' (1992)

Before he became famous for his legendary The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Kiwi director Peter Jackson was well known and praised as a horror director. Dead Alive, one of his best earlier works, is about a mama's boy mother, who comes back from the dead to kill and eat anything that comes in her path.

Gory, grisly, funny, and entertaining from beginning to end, Dead Alive has just the right amount of camp to make it an unforgettable classic. Made with incredible enthusiasm and energy, it's one of Jackson's most unique films.

9 'Gremlins 2: The New Batch' (1990)

1984's original Gremlins is, by its own merits, an effectively campy horror extravaganza. However, director Joe Dante (popular for his absurdist style) one-upped the proposal in every single way, delivering with Gremlins 2 one of the most colorful, exuberant, and dynamic horror sequels ever made.

The Gremlins' designs are wonderfully creative and silly, the plot is satirical and ridiculous, and Dante even managed to throw in some brilliant commentary on pop culture, civilized society, and the state of commercial cinema at the time.

8 'Jennifer's Body' (2009)

Although it was trashed by critics and audiences alike at the time of its release, the campy horror movie Jennifer's Body later became the beloved cult classic that it is today. It's a diabolically fun horror comedy about a newly possessed cheerleader who turns into a killer who specializes in killing her male classmates.

As the years have passed, fans have found that the movie has a deeper meaning than it may have initially seemed. Aside from nailing that goofy 2000s camp, Jennifer's Body is an empowering tale exploring sexuality, femininity, adolescence, and the death of innocence.

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7 'Fright Night' (1985)

Directed by Tom Holland (no, not that one), 1985's Fright Night is one of the most acclaimed vampire movies of all time, about a teen who discovers that his new neighbor is a mysterious vampire.

Equal parts scary and fun, the film uses its cheesy qualities and impressive VFX to deliver a surprisingly entertaining experience that has '80s written all over it. Mixing classic influences with more contemporary elements, it cemented itself as a true classic that has aged quite well, now considered one of the best camp horror movies.

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6 'The Cabin in the Woods' (2011)

Full of meta magnificence, The Cabin in the Woods is about five friends who retreat to a remote cabin in the middle of a forest, where they discover much more than they had bargained for.

This is one of those movies where the less you know about its plot going in, the richer your experience will be. The only thing new viewers must know is this: The Cabin in the Woods is a clever, funny, thrilling film full of shocking twists that explores the very nature of horror movies and storytelling themselves.

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5 'House' (1977)

House is a movie unlike any other. It's a wild and surreal story about a young girl who travels to the country with six friends to visit her aunt at an ancestral house. At once feeling like a high-quality arthouse picture and a bizarre horror B-movie, it's an experience that's hard to describe.

Through psychedelic visuals and gleefully experimental horror, director Nobuhiko Obayashi creates a complex and unforgettable tale about guilt and the implications of the atomic bomb, showing just how off-the-wall experimental horror can get.

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4 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (1975)

This cult classic about a couple of sweethearts who discover the eerie mansion of a transvestite scientist isn't a particularly scary horror movie, but it has creepiness, charm, and camp to spare.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show features incredibly catchy songs, a lively and vibrant story, some excellently executed social commentary, and one of the most magnetic performances ever to grace the horror genre by Tim Curry. Over the years, it has become an astonishingly big cult classic, and for good reason.

3 'Young Frankenstein' (1974)

Directed by Mel Brooks, master of campy satires, Young Frankenstein sees a young neurosurgeon played by the hilarious Gene Wilder arrive at the castle of his late grandfather, the infamous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. He believes that his grandfather wasn't as delusional as people said, but discovering the mad doctor's reanimation experiment changes his mind.

With timeless comedic dialogue, laughably zany characters, and a bunch of the signature Mel Brooks absurdism, Young Frankenstein is definitely worthy of being remembered as one of the best horror comedies of all time.

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2 'Scream' (1996)

Well known for its clever use of campy elements all throughout each installment, the Scream franchise has produced a number of films loved by fans of slashers, but nothing beats the original. In it, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer a year after the murder of her mother.

Serving as both a satire and a tribute to classic horror flicks of the past, Scream is one of the best and most creative teen horror movies of the '90s. Scary in its approach to horror and hilarious in its use of camp, it's a game that you'll definitely want to play if you enjoy camp horror.

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1 The 'Evil Dead' Trilogy (1981, 1987 & 1992)

When it comes to talking about films that perfectly blend horror and camp, it's hard not to think of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy as a single, off-the-wall, horror-comedy epic. Each installment brings something new and fresh to the table, yet they all feel like one big, delightful, scary entity.

The Evil Dead is genuinely terrifying and brilliantly over-the-top; Evil Dead II, one of the few horror sequels to surpass their predecessor, perfectly amps up the terror and wackiness; and Army of Darkness, though ridiculously different from the two movies that came before it, is every bit as crazy and entertaining. The result is an outstanding series of three of the best campy horror movies of all time.

NEXT:Modern Horror-Comedies Destined to Become Classics