Enjoy screaming at these horror movies… screaming with laughter.
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00:00For those that can't hack the spookier things in life, horror comedies are here to save
00:04the day. Making the diseased and dead perfectly palatable, taking the bite out of vampires,
00:10and cutting right to the funny bone better than any flailing machete, they aren't afraid
00:14to laugh at the poo in spooky. I'm really trying hard here, guys.
00:18Combining the best of both worlds, you really can laugh till you cry with these classic
00:22and beloved films that are both scared beyond belief, and give an ample opportunity to giggle
00:27your way to a new pair of abs.
00:29With that in mind, I'm Ash from WhatCulture, and these are the 10 Greatest Horror Comedy
00:34Movies of All Time.
00:3610. Creepshow
00:39George A. Romero and Stephen King come together to pay respect to the horror comics of the
00:4350s with a fantastic and funny anthology of five short films. With the respective royalty
00:48of horror novels and zombie movies joining forces, it's hardly a surprise that the film
00:53is a cult hit.
00:54Altogether, it's a quite brilliant, campy, and sometimes creepy anthology which wears
00:58its love for the genre on its sleeve. King and Romero prove a winning partnership, and
01:03Tom Savini's effects work, as always, is fantastic. It's truly a melting pot of the
01:08weird and wonderful.
01:10Joe Hill, King's author son, also cameos as a little boy reprimanded for reading horror
01:14comics by his father in the framing story for an extra dose of self-referential laughs.
01:209. Ghostbusters
01:21There is no need to retread the plot of Ghostbusters here. The film is one of cinema's most beloved
01:28spooky comedies, and is as much a soft, squishy treat as the marshmallow man of its final
01:33scenes. Combining family-friendly fun with hideous hellbeasts, it's like a day to Alton
01:37Towers with your mum. There's Jules' one per list.
01:40The special effects of the film are wonderful for the time, and the dialogue is sublime.
01:45Ghostbusters has so many highlight moments throughout, and such a clever story, that
01:48it is hard to pick out particular areas which stand out from the whole. Though I'm certain
01:52a certain sucking ghost has made its mark for all the wrong reasons. I thought this
01:56was a PG film.
01:588. Fright Night
02:01The main plot involves Charlie Brewster, a young horror movie fan who is convinced his
02:05new neighbour, Gerry Dandridge, is a vampire. He is, of course, as any self-respecting monster
02:10hunter would know, correct.
02:12Sarandon is cast brilliantly as the old-style suave vampire who has designs on Charlie's
02:17girlfriend. When Charlie fails to get anyone to believe him, he turns to the jaded Vincent
02:21to help him.
02:22Fright Night was well ahead of its time as a horror parody, being impressively self-referential
02:26in the same way Scream would be years later. The effects work is fantastic, and Holland,
02:31who went on to direct Child's Play, impresses with his directorial debut.
02:367. Evil Dead 2
02:39The original movie, The Evil Dead, was a pioneering low-budget showcase in guerrilla filmmaking,
02:44and a seriously good horror film. It was inevitably going to be hard to follow up with a direct
02:49sequel, considering the blood budget was well and truly spent. Instead of chopping up a
02:53few new cows, however, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell very cleverly changed the approach
02:57to this part-remix, part-sequel. Whilst the focus is still very much on demons and gore,
03:02this time around there is a clear focus on black humour, and many argue that Evil Dead
03:062 is overall the superior film.
03:09And of course, it's where the best version of Ash is brought into the series. We're
03:13pretty similar. I mean, I got rid of a spider from my room the other day without crying,
03:17so I'm pretty sure I'm qualified to take out some other monsters. Badasses, or even
03:21bad ashes. I've gotta stick together, you know?
03:246. Beetlejuice
03:27A sickly sweet couple, the Maitlands, discover that they are in fact very dead after a car
03:32crash renders them as ghosts. And soon their house is to be bought by the Deets family,
03:36yuppie New Yorkers who move in and start to change everything.
03:40In a spectacular sequence, they visit a kind of netherworld for the afterlife and meet
03:43their caseworker, Juno, who informs them that they must scare the Deets family out
03:47of their home if they want rid of them.
03:50She also warns them away from any contact with Beetlejuice, a self-proclaimed bio-exorcist.
03:55Irresistible as a greasy gravewalker can be, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice soon
04:00turns up for some fun. A wonderful comedy with Burton on peak form, he wrings terrific
04:05performances from an excellent ensemble, with everything from musical stylings to Jim Carrey-level
04:10paranormal face-melting.
04:135. The People Under The Stairs
04:16The story revolves around an oppressed black community being extorted by their white landlords.
04:21Finn Grames' burglar Leroy decides on revenge and attempts to rob them, along with his partner
04:25and a young kid named Fool.
04:28The landlords, credited as man and woman, are played by Wendy Robie and Everett McGill,
04:32reprising their marital partnership seen in Twin Peaks. Both performances are turned up
04:37to 11. Robie is a paranoid psychopath and McGill is a cannibalistic, bondage-suited
04:42monster. And you thought the Pulp Fiction gimp was bad.
04:45We later discover that the couple's daughter, Alice, is a physically and mentally abused
04:49prisoner. The couple have been kidnapping children for years, but none have lived up
04:52to their demanding standards and those that have failed are kept as prisoners in the basement.
04:57Much like me and my horde of ex-boyfriends.
05:00It's a bizarre movie with a really weird payoff, walking the line between creepy and corny with
05:04deft precision.
05:064. Brain Dead
05:09Also known as Dead Alive and lauded as the goriest film to ever grace screens, this is
05:13an early Peter Jackson splatterfest set down under.
05:17The prologue introduces us to the deadly Sumatran rat monkey as it is captured by a zoologist.
05:22It doesn't stay captured for long, however, and what follows from here is an astonishing
05:26amount of slapstick violence and gut-churning gore.
05:29Featuring intestines that come to life, a womb violent enough to put teeth to shame,
05:34and some seriously inventive ways to split a body, it showed the promise of Peter Jackson
05:38and his talent as a director in what was only his third feature at the time.
05:43Considering this is the same guy who directed Lord of the Rings, I honestly would pay any
05:46money to see Legolas have a shootout against Sumatran rat zombies.
05:503. The Frighteners
05:53With a great performance from Michael J. Fox as Frank Bannister, a kind of third-rate exorcist,
05:58psychic and conman, we see him use three ghosts to set up hauntings in people's houses before
06:02coming in to investigate and clear the house of paranormal activity, collecting a fee on
06:07the way out.
06:08Now, that's all well and good, but it soon turns nasty when a slew of murders are linked
06:11to the Cillit Bang spook remover.
06:13The Frighteners is wonderfully well-written with some great black comedy.
06:17It has some insanely good moments of CGI for the time and a particularly excellent performance
06:21from Combs, who is absolutely on form as the deranged FBI man.
06:25There are a handful of particularly dark moments and the creation of the soul-taker creature
06:29which Frank takes on is very impressive.
06:322. Shaun of the Dead
06:35Shaun of the Dead is a loving send-up of the shuffling zombie sub-genre, and a love letter
06:39to Romero.
06:40It was a big break for director Edgar Wright and writer Simon Pegg, essentially transposing
06:44their TV sitcom space to the big screen.
06:47Shaun and Ed shuffle through the opening scenes, hardly noticing the transition of those around
06:52them into the undead.
06:53As society descends into madness, Shaun manages to step up to the plate and becomes defender
06:58of his small band of losers.
07:00For fans of the zombie genre, there are plenty of nods to the classics of Romero and the
07:03cast are a veritable who's who of Channel 4 comedy.
07:07But most importantly, it's the most fitting response to a zombie apocalypse ever.
07:11A beer really does solve everything.
07:131. What We Do in the Shadows
07:17What We Do in the Shadows cleverly uses the mockumentary format and is brilliantly executed,
07:21depicting a plot that relies on great characters as we get to look at the daily lives of vampire
07:26roommates.
07:27Zombies are no Twilight vampires, though they do sparkle with charismatic charm.
07:32Their being is hundreds of years old, out of touch with modern life, and struggling
07:36to fit into a society they equally want to be a part of and prey on.
07:40It's a fangtastic display of bloody good filmmaking that you're sure to want to sink your teeth
07:45into.
07:46Dracu-ha-ha-ha.
07:47It plays with the tropes of vampire myths, and the ensemble cast play out a masterclass
07:52in comedy.
07:53They dress badly, they struggle to cope with domestic life, they fight and argue, and show
07:57all the flaws of humanity whilst remaining convincingly inhuman.
08:01It's a film you can come back to time and time again and still enjoy for being so f***ing
08:05good.
08:06Whoops, sorry.
08:07Werewolves, not swearwolves.
08:10And that's our list.
08:11What's your favourite film that gets you screaming with laughter?
08:14Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
08:16I've been Ash and this has been WhatCulture.
08:19Make sure to subscribe to the WhatCulture YouTube channel for more lists like this,
08:22and don't forget to visit WhatCulture.com for daily news and articles.