15 Moments Of Pure Comedy Hidden In Scary Horror Movies
Comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin, as has been proven quite definitively by that porta-potty scene in Jackass 3D. Sure, both these genres are subjective — not everyone thinks some movie with a storybook boogieman wearing a top hat is all that scary — but somewhere, someone's still freaked out by that underground glass display of horror monsters in The Cabin in the Woods while the rest of us can't stop laughing about the Merman joke. Here's that joke, and also 14 other times horror movies managed to weave in some good ol' comedy.
Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Yes, we can totally do an entire list of all the comedy gold one might find in the Jason Voorhees franchise, but the 1988 entry and seventh installment directed by John Carl Buechler had some truly comical moments, what with our telekinesis main girl using the power of thought to yeet couches at the guy who just wanted to get picked on the hockey team. This clip, especially, reaches new heights as it proves that you can totally take out a boulder of a slasher villain by simply swinging a ceiling light his way. Bonus points for Jason’s “Yelp!” as he stumbles down the stairs.
Halloween 4: Return Of Michael Myers
Michael doesn’t need a gun, y’all. Well, at least not for shooting, that is. No, he’ll just magically jam that thing straight through a human person and mount them up against a wall. The absurdity of this scene is what makes it so amusing.
Texas Chainsaw 3D
Lionsgate
Sometimes, the real comedy lies in a single line. Sometimes, that line is telling your cousin who likes to wear other people's faces to do what he does best. Family is everything, folks.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Oh, Freddy, you absolute gross guy, you. While many of the Slasher With A Face For Radio’s lines are often more cringe than laugh-out-loud funny, this scene works on a comedy level because 1) It’s a TV that suddenly grows robot arms, 2) Freddy’s head emerges from what looks like a condom, and 3) it mocks the stereotypical dream of being Hollywood famous by throwing out lines so ridiculously punny you can’t help but howl at all of it.
Poltergeist
Look, it’s not some malicious spirit! It’s showing these folks how to put a lamp together! Also, books are neat! Hey, a record player, let’s have a party! Seriously, the supposed scary spirit in this movie seems more whimsical than mean-spirited because its choice of scares is hilarious.
The Babadook
It’s the scene that spawned a thousand memes — it’s just that over the top. In horror movies, hysteria can easily lend itself to comedy.
The Cabin In The Woods
While the entire satire movie is peppered with call-outs and funny moments, the end really ramps up the horror when all the monsters are unleashed onto literally everyone involved in this diabolical project. The classic comedy moment comes in the form of Bradley Whitford’s character, who, after complaining earlier that he’s probably never going to see a Merman, gets his wish in the end.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
While we can say, uh, a lot about this movie and its attempt to be a relevant entry in a franchise that will probably never exceed its original film, the final scene at least managed to elicit laughs thanks to our Final Girl yelling her head off while a self-driving car slowly wheels her away. It’s modern macabre comedy that works — unlike whatever that bus scene was.
You’re Next
The moment happens at 0:32, but it’s best to just watch the movie and appreciate the build-up of this scene:
This 2011 slasher is filled with some rad and memorable moments (that blender scene, anyone?), but character Aimee’s brave and comical slow-mo attempt at a heroic escape ended so abruptly that it proved that a solid punchline always works in horror.
Halloween (2018)
“Shut up, Dave!” This kid is the best. The first installment of the latest trilogy gave us whiplash with its tonal shifts, but child actor Jibrail Nantambu and his natural proclivity for comedy was a welcoming addition to a movie that didn’t always hit its funny notes.
The Host
After a nail-biting opening sequence that left audience members horrified, we were treated to a scene so animated in its hysteria that no mourning sequence will ever surpass it.
Malignant
Is it the cuts that reveal the cause of our main gal Madison’s bonkers affliction? Is it the fact that she’s getting beat up by two women who look like they’ve stepped out of the ‘70s and ‘80s, respectively?
Warner Bros. Pictures
Is it the faces of those jail cell women when Madison rips open the back of her head?
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s all of the above. Truly, no notes.
The Exorcist
A classic horror that creeped the bejeezus out of most … only, its most memorable scene is the stuff comedy is made of because no one expected to see a little girl projectile vomiting onto a priest.
Us
While Jordan Peele loves a little tongue-in-cheek joke as much as the next guy, the scene where Elisabeth Moss’s character says, “Ophelia, call the police,” is a masterclass example of subverting expectations and ending a tense-filled sequence on a laugh.
Scream
While Wes Craven’s iconic slasher is most certainly a comedy horror, that final showdown scene had many a young person freaked the heck out when it was released back in 1996. Matthew Lillard, however, elevated that frightening blood-soaked finale and gave us one of the funniest characters in slasher movie history. Stu's parents must still be mad at him.
Thumbnail: Universal Pictures, Umbrella Entertainment
