The best horror comedies you need to watch

With Halloween approaching, it’s the perfect time to spend a spooky evening getting scared. However blood, gore and ghostly goings on aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. That’s where the horror comedy genre comes in. Combining both elements of horror and comedy to create a wild and whacky story that’s funny and just a touch spooky. Here are the best horror comedies to watch this Halloween.

So far this season I’ve covered spooky books and Netflix horrors. I also have a list of the best horror films to watch. So if you’re after something a little scarier then I recommend checking out those posts.

What We Do in the Shadows

Released: 2014 | Run time: 85 minutes | Genre: Mockumentary horror comedy

Four vampire roommates – Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr – are followed by a documentary crew. The vampires reside in a flat in Wellington, New Zealand and range in age from 8,000 years old to 183 years old. The documentary follows the vampires as they are introduced to modern technology and popular bars and clubs. It shows their lives as they try to rekindle old romances, make friends with humans and try to avoid vampire hunters. Oh and there’s a rival pack of werewolves thrown in there too. End credit scenes show how several plot lines from the movie have panned out.

What We Do in the Shadows was released long before Taika Waititi became a household name for his work on Thor: Ragnorak and The Mandalorian. As such the film only had a limited release but it has now become somewhat of a modern cult classic. Praised for being smart, fresh and funny it’s well worth a watch.

Little Shop of Horrors

Released: 1986 | Run time: 94 minutes | Genre: Black comedy musical

Seymour Krelborn and his colleague, Audrey work in a flower shop in a run-down neighbourhood of New York. Due to a lack of customers the flower shop needs to close down but Audrey suggests they display an unusual plant (named Audrey II) that Seymour owns in order to attract customers. Soon though the plant starts to wilt and Seymour discovers it needs human blood to survive. As Audrey II begins to rapidly grow Seymour becomes a local celebrity but also becomes more and more drained as he feeds the plant his own blood. The film follows Audrey and Seymour as they try and form a relationship, battle an abusive boyfriend and a blood thirsty plant that learns to talk.

The film is based off the Broadway musical of the same name with songs by Alan Menken (who has written many Disney songs). The film is campy, odd and features a lot of catchy songs.

Krampus

Released: 2015 | Run time: 98 minutes | Christmas comedy horror

Max Engel is a firm believer in Santa Claus and still sends a letter each year. When his cousins get hold of his letter he is mocked for still believing. Max gets angry and says that he hates his family and Christmas. That night a snow storm engulfs the town and Max’s sister goes missing. When her parents attempt to look for her they are attacked by a horned creature. Max’s German grandmother explains that the creature is Krampus, a demonic being who punishes those that have lost the Christmas spirit. The film follows the family as they try and evade Krampus and Max tries to regain his Christmas spirit to end the nightmare. The family awake on Christmas Day believing they all had a nightmare the night before but the end of the film reveals something else entirely.

If you think it’s never too earlier for a Christmas film but still want to celebrate Halloween, this is the one for you. A fun non-traditional holiday movie with a touch of gore.

Shaun of the Dead

Released: 2004 | Run time: 99 minutes | Genre: Horror comedy drama

Electronic salesman Shaun is a bit of loser. Freshly dumped and with no direction in life he spends his spare time at the pub with his slacker friend, Ed. Back at home Shaun and Ed’s flatmate Pete has been mugged and has a bite wound. By the next morning a zombie apocalypse has overwhelmed London. Shaun and Ed fight their way through the streets and collect their friends and family along the way before taking refuge in their beloved pub, the Winchester. Eventually the zombies break in and bite Ed while Shaun and he ex girlfriend, Liz escape. The British army appear and rescue them. The film flips to six months later where civilisation has returned to normal and the zombies are used as cheap labour and entertainment, including Ed who Shaun keeps in a shed.

The film was inspired by many zombie movies such as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead and has a great balance of gore and scares alongside great, witty comedy moments.

Beetlejuice

Released: 1988 | Run time: 92 minutes | Genre: Fantasy comedy

Recently deceased couple Barbara and Adam Maitland become ghosts in their former home. When Barbara’s cousin sells the home to a New York family – the Deetzes – the Maitlands try to scare them but they can’t be seen. They receive advertisements from a spectre, Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice). Through the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, the Maitlands open a door the the netherworld and learn that they shouldn’t receive help from Betelgeuse. The film follows the Maitlands in their attempt to remove the Deetzes from their home and consequently summoning Betelgeuse before realising they’ve made a mistake. The two families eventually learn to live in harmony.

Save for later!

The film has been praised for being some of Michael Keaton’s best work and for being equal parts creepy and funny. Striking a perfect balance between the bizarre, horror and comedy.

Housebound

Released: 2014 | Run time: 106 minutes | Genre: Paranormal horror comedy

Kylie is sentenced to house arrest for eight months under the care of her mother for attempting to steal the safe from an ATM. Kylie doesn’t get on with her mum or her stepfather and is further annoyed by them when her mum calls into a radio talk show to say she believes her house is haunted. When a hand grabs Kylie’s ankle she believes there to be an intruder in the house. A security contractor, Amos, who monitors Kylie’s ankle monitor offers to perform a thorough investigation of the house for paranormal activity. The film follows Kylie and Amos as they discover the house was once used as a halfway house and was the site of a brutal murder. They try and uncover the truth while fighting for people to believe them that something is not quite right with the house and they maybe someone is living within the walls.

This film is another New Zealand offering and a bit of a hidden gem within the horror comedy genre. It manages to deliver on both the horror and comedy fronts extremely well to offer a funny and spooky film.

A Haunted House

Released: 2013 | Run time: 86 minutes | Genre: Found footage parody

When young couple Malcolm and Kisha move in together they quickly suspect something is not quite right. They have security cameras installed after Kisha becomes convinced that there’s a ghost in the house. The camera’s pick up a lot of strange activity, mainly centred around Kisha. She later confesses that she began experiencing paranormal activity when she was eight. The film follows the couple through a found footage format as they attempt to drive the paranormal activity out of the home and survive the nightly terrors inflicted upon on them while trying to prevent Kisha to succumbing to demonic possession.

While this film didn’t get favourable reviews from critics I personally found it really funny and a great parody of many modern horrors such as Paranormal Activity. A second film was released too which parodies the Conjuring franchise.

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Released: 1975 | Run time: 100 minutes | Genre: Musical comedy horror

When Brad Majors and Janet Weiss find themselves stranded with a flat tyre they set off trying to find the nearest home with a telephone. They stumble upon a castle where things take a strange turn. A group of people are attending an Annual Transylvanian Convention held by Dr Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite. Frank claims to be making himself a man called Rocky and that he’s discovered the secret to life. Soon Brad and Janet are swept up in Frank’s strange world which sees them being seduced by Frank, seeing Rocky come to life and learning that Frank and his friends are not what they originally seemed but are in fact aliens from another planet. All of this madness is sprinkled with musical numbers including the famous Time Warp!

The film is totally wild and it’s easy to see why it’s become a cult classic and why it has such a big following. Considering it was made in the mid 70’s it’s so out there for it’s time with the themes and the main character being a bisexual transvestite. It’s kooky, funny, odd and quite frankly, fantastic!

The Cabin in the Woods

Released: 2011 | Run time: 95 minutes | Genre: Horror comedy

The film starts in an underground laboratory where two engineers are discussing a ritual and how it’s failed in other places. We then switch to a group of teenagers heading to a cabin for a weekend away. Once at the cabin the teens unknowingly become influenced by mind altering drugs released into the cabin by the engineers. Bets are taken in the laboratory as to what kind of monster will attack the teens. The group encounter zombies and when they crash into a force field two of them realise that their encounters are being manipulated by an external source. The two survivors find their way into the lab where they confronted by The Director who explains the ritual is to save humanity and involves the sacrifice of five slasher film archetypes. They must then decide whether humanity is actually worth saving.

This film is another shining example of originality. It manages to be funny, scary and strange all in perfect balance.

Ghostbusters

Released: 1984 | Run time: 105 minutes | Genre: Supernatural comedy

Three scientists who are investigating the paranormal are fired when they encounter their first ghost. In response they create Ghostbusters – a paranormal investigation team. They are first hired to remove a ghost from a hotel and after that business picks up as New York seems to get more and more ghosts. They then hire a fourth member of the team. The film follows the Ghostbusters as they try and battle a demigod, possession and try to find the source of all the paranormal activity around the city. When the Ghostbusters are detained all the ghosts they’ve previously captured escape and the team must fight to save the city and banish the ghouls.

A film about the paranormal that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Ghostbusters managed to become a huge hit and the iconic Stay Puft marshmallow man is now synonymous with the film.

Have you seen any of these films? Any other horror comedies you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

Pin this: