The 8 Best Horror Comedies Of All Time, From ‘Cabin In The Woods’ To ‘Scream’
On the surface, it’s hard to believe two genres as wildly opposite in tone as comedy and horror could ever co-exist.
But like salt and caramel, pineapple and ham, or cheese and apples, each genre manages to bring out the strength and flavorful appeal of the other, resulting in a singularly memorable combination unlike any other in the cinematic landscape.
From darkly comic monster movies to meta-aware slasher films, here are our picks for the absolute greatest horror comedies in the world today, ranked in order from worst to best.
8. Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Like most of the best horror movies, Jennifer’s Body has long since outgrown its initially indifferent critical response, becoming one of the most beloved cult films of the late 2000s. A sharply comic coming of age drama centered around Megan Fox’s man-eating high school student, Jennifer’s Body is a thought-provoking, genre-bending horror film as funny as it is consistently scary.
7. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)
If you can imagine the events of The Hills Have Eyes from the hillbillies’ perspective, you can essentially imagine the plot of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. Hilariously subverting the stereotypes surrounding a traditional slasher film, Tucker and Dale poses the question: “What if the events of Friday the 13th or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was just one big misunderstanding?” Taking that question and expanding it to its fullest narrative possibilities, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil lives on as one of the funniest slasher films we’ve had the pleasure of seeing yet.
6. The Cabin in the Woods (2017)
Just as Tucker and Dale vs. Evil acts as a tongue-in-cheek spoof of The Hills Have Eyes, The Cabin in the Woods turns the plot of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series completely on its head. Cleverly exploiting the various cliches surrounding the horror genre, The Cabin in the Woods unfolds like a loving homage to the dozens upon dozens of horror films it’s clearly inspired by, from The Evil Dead and The Shining to Hellraiser, Night of the Living Dead, and The Ring, among countless others.
5. American Psycho (2000)
As with most of the films on this list, American Psycho only continues to age like a fine wine with each passing year. Brilliantly adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’s controversial novel of the same name, American Psycho brings a topical edge to the traditional slasher genre, melding first-rate horror with a satirical portrayal of 1980s Wall Street (I.E., one of the most toxic, self-obsessed, greed-oriented, narcissistic eras in modern history).
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
In the early 2000s, the once popular zombie subgenre had quietly slipped back into the grave. Based on the success of films like 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead, though, the beloved horror staple made a surprising comeback, kicking off a renewed interest in zombie films for the remainder of the decade. In the case of the latter film, director Edgar Wright manages to piece together an intelligent homage to George Romero’s most iconic zombie films, doubling down on all the foremost aspects that made Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead so entertaining to watch in the first place.
3. Evil Dead II (1987)
Catching lightning in a bottle with his cinematic debut on The Evil Dead, director Sam Raimi took his time crafting 1987’s long-awaited sequel, Evil Dead II. Rather than a two-dimensational rehash of its preceding chapter, Evil Dead II excels as a fascinating continuation of Ash’s misadventures in his demon-surrounded cabin. Introducing a far more comedic tone than its opening chapter, Evil Dead II is the perfect segue from the straightforward frights of The Evil Dead to the outright hilarity of Army of Darkness.
2. Get Out (2017)
A longtime passion project of comedian/director Jordan Peele’s, Get Out manages to do what Jaws had done in the 1970s or A Nightmare on Elm Street accomplished in the 1980s. Taking a simple idea and exploring the darker narrative possibilities that lay behind it, Get Out somehow paints its ordinary premise, settings, and characters in an endlessly unnerving new light. Among the most important films of the 21st century yet, its bearing on the contemporary horror landscape cannot be overstated, cementing Peele as the modern Master of Suspense.
1. Scream (1996)
To this day, it’s impossible to emphasize just how revolutionary Scream was when it first arrived in 1996. Influencing almost every major slasher that came after it, Scream also served as one of the earliest horror movies to offer a more meta-aware approach to conventional genre stereotypes. Through this unique, self-referential style of filmmaking, Scream found a way to openly mock its underlying horror elements while also instilling fear in the audience, causing us each to nervously laugh when someone pointed out its obvious plot similarities to Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street, and to jump out of our seats whenever the killer made a sudden appearance.
