10 Greatest Horror Comedies

WhatCulture

Enjoy screaming at these horror movies… screaming with laughter.

Transcript

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.

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