Horror and comedy are two genres that have more in common than one might realize. Both rely heavily on the element of surprise to develop their stories. But while comedy delivers surprises to make an audience laugh, horror delivers surprises to scare the living daylights out of them. So it’s usually a winning combination when a film attempts to do both.
Whether characters acknowledge how silly the surrounding carnage is or take it seriously, it borders on camp. So, horror and comedy go together like peas in a pod. They deliver lots of laughs and genuinely scary moments to give unforgettable experiences for the viewing audiences.
‘An American Werewolf in London’ (1981)
Created by Animal House director John Landis, this film showcases a different kind of animal. Two American backpackers traveling in England get attacked by what others think is an escaped lunatic but seems more like a large dog. One becomes an unseen ghost while the other is cursed to become a werewolf by the next full moon.
The understated and deadpan sense of humor adds to terrifying scares and a creature design that looks like it crawled straight out of hell. The upbeat music choices clash hilariously with the imagery on the screen. Even the somewhat tragic ending still gets a laugh because of how abrupt it is.
‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2011)
Everything on the surface of this cult hit seems like nothing more than a typical slasher – five teenagers are traveling to a cabin in the woods for a vacation but are attacked by a monstrous force. Admittedly, it’s a very formulaic set-up, but that’s precisely the point.
The movie frequently cuts back to a group of people in an underground facility watching these events and influencing them, and it’s quickly apparent that something far more significant is happening. What begins as a somewhat typical horror fare concludes with a commentary on the state of horror at large, with a blood-splattered climax packed with terror and jokes
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ (1986)
A pre-Disney effort by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, this musical is a much darker type of fairytale. Ordinary flower shop worker Seymour finds a strange and interesting plant to entice new customers to the shop. The problem with the plant, known only to Seymour, is that it feeds on human blood.
At first, Seymour can keep it happy with a few drops from his finger, but as the plant grows, so does its appetite. It even starts talking - and singing. This cult classic has catchy songs, breathtaking special effects, fun characters, and an infamous original ending.
‘Army of Darkness’ (1992)
In the third film of the Evil Dead saga, everyone’s favorite chainsaw-handed maniac, Ash Williams has been flung back in time to medieval England. And he’s not happy about it. At first imprisoned - then hailed as a hero to the king - Ash must defeat the menace of the Deadites to get back home to his job at S-Mart.
Much of the film’s tone takes more after The Three Stooges than The Exorcist. But, of course, Ash’s temperamental attitude and general lack of foresight led to some of the funniest gags in any horror film.
‘Zombieland’ (2009)
Zombies have taken over the world, and it’s a genuine inconvenience. Zombieland follows a lonely shut-in, a cowboy-like stranger, a runaway girl, and her younger sister as they meet up and form an unlikely family while travelling across a zombie-struck America.
Much of the heartache and hopelessness persistent in the Zombie sub-genre is lacking, and instead, the film focuses on creative ways to kill the undead, searching for Twinkies, and hanging out with (and accidentally killing) Bill Murray. All four of the lead ensemble make for engaging characters and navigate societal collapse with fun and ease.
‘Ghostbusters’ (1984)
Ghostbusters is a classic, written by and starring comedians at the top of their game that also has one of the most creative horror designs in cinema history. The premise is simple yet invites tremendous potential: four men decide to exterminate ghosts and save the world.
On it's own, the relatable comedy of three guys working in New York City is funny. But the ghosts' designs are genuinely frightening, too. They may be cartoon-like and act somewhat silly in several parts, but each ghost, demon, and god is sinister enough that the threat remains real and make the characters' interactions are funnier.
‘Freaky’ (2020)
The director of Happy Death Day perhaps landed his most successful horror comedy thus far with Freaky. When lonely high school student Millie Kessler finds herself the latest victim of a mysterious serial killer called the Blissfield Butcher, both their lives are thrown upside down after magically switching bodies.
Suddenly, Millie becomes confident in the body of a 50-year-old man, while the Butcher has found perfect new victims – the classmates and teachers who bully Millie. A fun genre mashup with a big heart, it’s the ideal film to watch with your sister, who loves Freaky Friday, and your edgy brother, who loves Scream.
‘Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil’ (2010)
This recent Canadian hit answers the question of what would happen if two horror villains were actually the good guys. In Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, a group of college friends are on vacation in the woods. Also in the woods are Tucker and Dale, two friendly hillbillies that bought a "fabulous" new vacation home - a dilapidated log cabin.
While fishing one night, Tucker and Dale watches one of the college girls accidentally knock herself out. They try to alert her friends, who mistake their attempts to help with a kidnapping attempt. What follows is a cacophony of misunderstandings as the college kids continue to meet their own gruesome ends, leaving Tucker and Dale to figure out why these kids are killing themselves.
‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)
Shaun is an average guy with small dreams and little ambition. He likes going out to the pub with his hapless girlfriend, eating a Cornetto with his slacker roommate Ed, and bonding with his mum. Now it’s time for Shaun to grow up a little, sort out his relationships and get his life in order. But first, he has to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Edgar Wright’s second film is not quite an all-out parody, because while the film has many gags and jokes, the zombie threat is taken seriously. Shaun and his crew face genuinely heartbreaking deaths, but by replacing the hero of the apocalypse with this under-achieving dork, it’s a lot funnier and a lot less nihilistic.
‘What We Do in The Shadows’ (2014)
Before the beloved FX TV series of the same name, Taika Waititi directed this mockumentary following a group of vampires living in a flat in New Zealand. Together they try to navigate the modern world and accept a new vampire into their little group.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) came at the perfect time, right after the age of Edward Cullen when vampires had reached new levels of popularity. It completely dispels the myth of glamorous, decadent vampire life by showing how vampires in the modern age don't get up to much apart from washing dishes, vacuuming while floating, and picking fights with werewolves.