Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story and Glee, recently unveiled some of the details for his latest creation, Scream Queens. This female-led, anthology series for Fox is set to premiere next fall, and according to Murphy will launch a whole new genre, “comedy-horror.”
Wait. What?
Anyone who likes horror, or comedy, knows that the genres have been used together well before Murphy thought of Scream Queens, or Nip/Tuck. For Murphy’s benefit, and since Halloween is Friday, here is a list of horror movies that are also funny. These movies are not “so bad, they’re funny” horror movies (sorry “MSTies“), but legitimate comedy-horror movies.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s “Cornetto Trilogy” starts here with the story of Shaun (Pegg), an unfocused electronics store employee, who along with his unemployed best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), and bored girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), hole up in their favorite bar and fend off an outbreak of zombies.
If you like laughs and zombies check out: Warm Bodies, Fido, and Zombieland.
TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL (2010)
This movie sat in my Netflix queue for months. I had read how great it was, but couldn’t get myself to actually sit and watch it, but thankfully I did because it’s a really hilarious take on the “rednecks in the woods/creepy cabin” horror movie. Alan Tudyk (Firefly) as Tucker and Tyler Labine (Reaper) as Dale are amazing as two buddies who just purchased a rundown cabin deep in the woods of West Virginia and run into a bunch of college students on a camping trip.
For more cabins, laughs, and blood check out: The Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead II, and Cabin Fever.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
This classic from comedy genius Mel Brooks is a parody of the Universal Pictures Frankenstein movies of the 1930’s. In fact, the lab equipment used by Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) was used in the first Frankenstein movie in 1931. The AFI listed Young Frankenstein as the 13th-best comedy film of all-time in 2010, and the screenplay by Brooks and Wilder was nominated for an Oscar.
Other takes on the Universal Monsters include: The Monster Squad, Frankenweenie, and various movies featuring Abbott and Costello.
TROLLHUNTER (2010)
This Norwegian “found footage” movie isn’t necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, but the absurdity of the situation definitely lends itself to a chuckle or two. After college students making a documentary about bear poaching find out that their suspected poacher, Hans (Otto Jespersen), is actually working for the Norwegian government’s Troll Security Service, they decide to follow him in search of renegade trolls.
Here are other foreign horror movies that will make you laugh: Dead Snow, Dead Alive, and Cemetery Man.
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)
One of my favorite horror-comedy movies would probably be considered “so bad, it’s good” by a good majority of people who have seen it. But director Fred Dekker, who also directed The Monster Squad, set out to make a homage to 1950’s B-Movies and he definitely did that. He also named the main characters after horror/sci fi directors, and cast horror movie cult hero Tom Atkins as Detective Cameron. Night of the Creeps was a box-office bomb, but a healthy cult following has developed since its release in 1986.
More funny flicks with tiny, creepy creatures include: Slither, Gremlins, and Arachnophobia.
Obviously, this list is far from complete (Where’s Army of Darkness?), so feel free to tell us your favorite horror-comedy movie in the comments section, and Happy Halloween!
