The 13 Best Horror-Comedies So Funny It’s Scary

No Bill Murrays were harmed in the making of this article.
The 13 Best Horror-Comedies So Funny It’s Scary

What makes a great horror-comedy? It can't just be funny, and it can't just be scary, it's got to take the two genres and combine them successfully, like Frankenstein's monster. The fact is, this genre blend is a delicate art. However, when we think about it, it seems like horror and comedy--fear and laughter--are actually fairly close artistic cousins. Both genres involve reactions to a surprise, both involve instinctual and largely involuntary reactions (think of gasps and laughs!) and both involve really foundational and universal human emotions.

While in many ways horror and comedy may seem like opposites, the fact is, their blend is a natural marriage that has results in some amazing cinematic gems.

We wanted to explore more than a dozen horror comedy movies that are so funny it's actually scary!

For example, if you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, you are missing out on a hilarious and incredible mash up of the buddy comedy and zombie flick.

Don't just sit there--scroll on down!

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM SHAUN OF THE DEAD (INGHA) USE Not all genre spoofs are created equal; the Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg dream team crafted a love letter to Night of the Living Dead that was as suspenseful as it was hilarious and touching. The script, written with tight precision, was stocked full of foreshadowing and clever callbacks, making this film worth revisiting over and over again.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM ARMY OF DARKNESS The Chin himself, B-movie horror schlock royalty Bruce Campbell, is a man out of time - by about 692 years. With his trusty boomstick and a chainsaw in place of his right hand, the sarcastic store clerk is all that stands between the people of the middle ages and a primordial evil - the Deadites.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL GIV This modern take on the killer hillbilly trope makes the would-be killers into innocent bystanders, helpless as the prototypical high school canon fodder winds up getting themselves mutilated in the isolated patch of wilderness. The brutal bloodshed is offset by the brilliant and hilarious performances by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM CABIN IN THE WOODS This meta commentary on the whole horror genre serves as a barbed criticism of movie tropes, and acts as a legit thriller in its own right. Since this is a Joss Whedon vehicle, maybe the lesson should be that the REAL monsters are behind the camera? But yeah, no, actual monsters are in the movie too.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM ZOMBIELAND It's a road trip movie and coming of age story, set against the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. Jesse Eisenberg, as Columbus, survives the undead with a set of rules, which we as the audience get to see laid out with some spectacularly bloody zombie re-deaths.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS This mockumentary treats the bloodthirsty undead as squabbling housemates, who argue over the mundane when not securing fresh human blood to consume. Co-created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, What We Do is a fish-out-of-water story, even if these fish will literally eat you.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM DEAD ALIVE Peter Jackson, before he discovered New Zealand, created the most wonderfully bizarre zombie genre-film in Dead Alive. From the stylized direction, to the scene chewing performances, to the splatter of blood and guts in every moment, this is a frantic masterpiece. Bet you'll never look at lawn maintenance, or Campbell's soup, the same way ever again.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM JENNIFER'S BODY It's a demon-possession-aided revenge flick, as well as a smart and funny commentary on female friendship with all the twists and turns that goes with it. Megan Fox is brilliantly cast (as rare as that is) as the popular Jennifer, counterpart to Amanda Seyfried's bookish Needy, who was sacrificed and returned to the living world, host to something demonic.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM BUBBA НО-ТЕР If the premise of an ancient Egyptian mummy killing off residents of a nursing home by sucking out their souls wasn't far out enough, have Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis Presley and his partner, JFK (maybe), take on the primeval threat. Campbell is doing what he does best, bringing gravitas and heart to an otherwise absurd role.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM TREMORS This 1950's creature feature throwback from 1990 has had a resurgence of appreciation as of late, and it's for good reason. As we get bogged down with 2.5, 3, and 4 hour long movies these days, it's refreshing to see a film with absolutely no wasted screen time; if something is set up in Tremors, you can bet it'll have a pay off.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM SCREAM This self-aware but effective Slasher revival creates an iconic horror villain while not so subtly mocking the entire concept of stalking the blonde babysitter as she heats up popcorn. Energetic performances from Matthew Lillard, Jaime Kennedy and David Arquette keep Scream from becoming a forgettable massacre.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM GHOSTBUSTERS SPENSLER STINTZ It was actually fairly freaky at the time of release, despite the goofiness of recent revivals, pairing ghostly practical effects and sardonic '80s humor. Each of the titular Busters is a fleshed out character, so when the nasties start to show up they are able to play off each other to great effect.
COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM GREMLINS Is Gremlins a Christmas movie? Perhaps that's a discussion for another time. What it is, is a seminal piece of classic '80s horror, that marries the concept of mysterious creatures small enough to hide in dark corners but savage enough to rend the flesh from your bones, and a winking, self-aware attitude that gives each of them a personality.
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