Laugh In The Face Of Fear!
Humor can be a great thing when it is paired with horror. In a straight horror film, laughter and levity can escalate the terror when it strikes by increasing the comfort of the audience before the scare occurs and catches them off guard. When the balance is turned the other way, the comedy can make the audience realize how ridiculous the situations in horror films can really be. Here I have gathered (in no particular order) ten horror-comedies that are staples in my video collection. A lot you may know, but maybe there is one or two you will want to check out. Grab yourself a copy with the title links for each of the films.
10. Little Shop of Horrors
A carnivorous plant that constantly needs to be fed, a hapless underling desperately trying to get the girl, a star-studded cast and some catchy songs bring this wildly successful musical from the stage to the big screen and into your home. There are many times I find myself humming songs from this horror-comedy like “Skid Row”, and “Dentist!”. Some great cameos include John Candy and Jim Belushi. You and your friends will have a lot of fun with Little Shop of Horrors. The theatrical release contained a heart-warming ending. but you can see the original ending on the 2012 Director’s Cut Blu-Ray/DVD release.
9. Return of the Living Dead Part II
Some may disagree with this, but to me, this film falls into the horror-comedy genre. Return of the Living Dead Part II has plenty of laughs mix with gore you come to expect with zombie films. Even two central actors from the first film return as new characters and reference their situation being familiar. Watch the cast use any method they can to combat these nearly unstoppable zombies from the Return of the Living Dead series. Don’t take this too seriously and you get a lot of laughs out of it.
8. Shaun of the Dead
Speaking of zombies, no list like this can be complete without Shaun of the Dead. The horror-comedy contains a huge spectrum of comedy including slapstick, tongue and cheek, situational, meta and more. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have great comedic chemistry together as they work with the rest of the cast to survive this zombie outbreak. A great balance of laughs and blood, very few viewers don’t become fans after a first viewing and more than one viewing may be needed to catch every joke and reference in the film.
7. Young Frankenstein
This Mel Brooks film started in the mind of Gene Wilder. An homage to the original Universal Monsters Frankenstein films, it follows the grandson of Baron Frankenstein, who initially wants nothing to do with his heritage, as he begins to follow in his family’s footsteps of creating life. Whether the intent was for this to be an official sequel in the series or not, it is in my headcanon. Young Frankenstein does a great job of having the feel of the old black and white monster films. Beyond that, this movie is full of great gags including a moving hump, a song and dance routine with the monster, and the overall wackiness distinctive of a Mel Brooks film.
6. Transylvania 6-5000
When I was a young Savage, I would watch anything that included or had to do with horror and monsters. Unfortunately, my mother was fairly good at monitoring what my sister and I were exposed to so monster films were limited. Transylvania 6-5000 is not a great horror-comedy, but it has a warm place in my heart as one of the few monster movies I could watch with permission from my parents (there may have been a few they didn’t know I saw). It has high points including the banter between Ed Begley Jr. and Jeff Goldblum, a doctor that is insane only when he enters his laboratory, and any of the scenes involving the servant characters. While not a timeless classic, it has gained a cult following since its release.
5. Bubba Ho-Tep
A more current(ish) horror-comedy, Bubba Ho-Tep stars Bruce Campbell as an aging Elvis impersonator (or is he the real Elvis) and Ossie Davis as JFK. Along with others, they live in a retirement home that is feeding ground for an ancient mummy in a cowboy outfit. Based on a short story, Don Coscarelli brought this strange tale to our screens. Bruce Campbell’s impersonation of old Elvis is both terrible and wonderful and Ossie Davis shows that even at 85 years old, he can still give a good performance. While there are laughs, there are also touching moments as the characters deal with old age, death, and helplessness, but really watch it for the laughs.
4. Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Another Mel Brooks’ film for the list. Dracula: Dead and Loving It stars Leslie Nielsen as the title character and Mel Brooks as Van Helsing. While the production quality doesn’t seem as up to par as other Brooks films, it still delivers plenty of laughs and some memorable performances by Nielsen, Brooks, Harvey Korman, and Peter MacNicol. A little trick to make the film look better, make your TV black and white. For some reason, the whole movie seems to improve.
3. Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College
Ghoulies III took a huge turn away from the source films. It is one part Revenge of the Nerds, one part Gremlins, and one part Three Stooges. The humor is juvenile, the horror is cartoonish, but it still some goofy laughs. Also, Kevin McCarthy seemed to have a lot of fun playing the cantankerous and then evil Professor Ragnarok. A good movie to watch with friends and together enjoy this outlandish film.
2. Dead Alive
Coming out of New Zealand, this zombie comedy was directed by Peter Jackson. You know. The guy who directed all those Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit blockbuster films. Yeah, he made a zombie comedy. This is a fun film that includes sooo much gore. And, for the comedy side, there are scenes involving a kung-fu priest, a zombie baby, and the hero of the story cartoonishly slipping on blood and pus as he attempts to escape a zombie horde. Lots of strange laughs to be found in Dead Alive.
1. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
A classic in the horror-comedy genre. This film pairs the original Universal Monsters (portrayed by Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, and Lon Chaney Jr.) with the comedy duo of Abbott and Costello. While there is plenty of humor, the monsters are rarely the source of the laughter. In fact, when they are involved with the comedy bits, the source of humor would be the terror that they caused in Costello. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is also the last time that Bela Lugosi reprised the role of Dracula in a film capacity.
There you have it. My list of horror comedies that I have become quite fond of. However, while I was putting this list together, I realized there were so many more films that can be added to this list. So let me know if you enjoyed this one either in the comments below or on one of our social media pages and I may do a part II in the future!
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