Your favorite horror comedy gems

This has long been a favorite genre of mine ever since the 80's when I was introduced to some of the best like An American Werewolf in London, Re-Animator and Return of the Living Dead.

I'm always looking for some I may have missed if anyone knows of some good ones. Others I am a big fan of are
Bubba Ho Tep (This **** is so ridiculous I won't even try the plot here.If you like great nonsense but with a witty script please check it out)
Slither (Fantastic cast and direction with nice old school effects)
I'm looking for more of these type of films that are a something of a balance of horror/comedy than an outright comedy like What We Do in the Shadows or Young Frankenstein, both of which are great comedies though.

Some of these are more popular (I would think you've seen Night of the Creeps if you've seen Slither, but you never know), so I'll just list 'em all. The ones with stars are ones I will defend strongly and some are legit favorite films of mine (especially Brain Damage). Everything else listed here is at least good if not great (for example, I think Grabbers is worth seeing, even if it's not AMAZING).

Ready or Not
Tremors*
Society*
Brain Damage*
The Stuff
Severence
Botched
Night of the Comet*
Mom & Dad
Trick R Treat*
Ravenous*
Night of the Creeps
Murder Party
Street Trash
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon*
You Might Be the Killer
Cemetery Man*
Housebound
Bride of Re-Animator*
Nina Forever
Grabbers
Blood & Donuts*



Mostly Comedy
Velocipastor
Shaun of the Dead*
Tucker & Dale Vs Evil
Warm Bodies*
Dead Alive*
The Voices*
Frankenhooker
Detention
Spider Baby*
Crush the Skull
Juan of the Dead

The people who made Crush the Skull have also made some pretty funny horror/comedy YouTube shorts about a couple who ends up fraught situations where they can't decide if someone is menacing or innocent (someone in them always ends up shouting "CRUSH THE SKULL!!!"). Here's the first one (NOTE: I think that this short is maybe like a PG-13 in terms of content):

It’s a fine balance to strike, and admittedly, I much prefer straight-up horror, but I’d recommend Cabin in the Woods (2012).

Happy Death Day (2017) is also watchable, though that’s leaning more into sci-fi.

Little Evil (2017) didn’t strike the right chord with me, as I used to really like the original Omen (1976), but objectively, it’s not a bad film.

The Hunt (2020) isn’t as good as the others, but also worth checking out.

*thumbs up*

This was a blast in the theater.

Yes, it’s made for the big screen. Brilliant stuff. I’m a sucker for meta-fictional horror, and the only film that does it better I think is Benson and Moorhead’s Resolution (2013).

You might like movies like

What We Do In The Shadows... which I turned off in the middle of it..

Comedy and Horror should never go together IMO.

Takoma covered a lot of them. I can add Mum and Dad (different from Mom and Dad), Inbred, Dead Snow, Feed, Gutterballs, Motel Hell, Hanger, Luther the Geek, Christine, and Christmas Evil.

I can't believe I forgot Happy Death Day! Not amazing, but definitely worth seeing. And I've heard the sequel is okay as well.

I really liked Resolution (and also Spring--I need to go back and rewatch The Endless as I stopped about 40 minutes in and now it's been to long to just pick up where I left off).

In terms of meta horror, my favorites are probably
Cabin in the Woods
Resolution
Scream
Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon
You Might Be the Killer

Final Girls has some interesting moments, but I ultimately didn't find it that successful. Same for Tragedy Girls (which is maybe more satire than meta).

I might even slightly put Behind the Mask ahead of Cabin in the Woods just because I found it to be so delightfully specific and I still find myself quoting several lines from it ("He's like a lemur!").

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
Elvira's Haunted Hills
Tremors
Creepshow
Fright Night (1985)

Haven’t seen the sequel. I agree, it’s a fun little one-off and it was refreshing to see an atypical ‘cheerleader bully’ character.

Finally, someone who’s seen them! Something about what Benson and Moorhead do really resonates with me on a personal level, I go into them knowing I’ll love it and so far, I haven’t been disappointed. I’d say Resolution is the best, then The Endless (though I can understand how one could turn it off - films about sects/cults exist on their own plane), then Spring. I’m looking forward to Synchronic, but Covid-19 has messed up the release and now I don’t know when I’ll see it. I tried to find a DVD, but no such luck. Ah well. Good things come to those who wait.

I need to watch these two.

You guys have mentioned quite a few I haven't seen that I can't wait to check out. Tremors, Shawn of the Dead and Night of the Comet are all ones I'm fond of. Someone mentioned The Final Girls; that goes on my list of films with the likes of Anchorman and even more so American Horror Story 1984 as the biggest missed opportunities. Such a can't miss idea only it struck the completely wrong tone I felt. I grew up with and love even the bad 80's slasher flicks and there is so much there to have fun with but they can't seem to get the satire right.

Just to clarify, I didn't turn it off because I didn't like it. I was watching it with friends and it just got too late (I had a 85 minute commute home) and so we reluctantly stopped the movie. Then for like a month we kept going "We need to get back together to finish the film!". At this point I know that I need to just go back and watch it from the start because enough details have faded from my mind.

I agree with you about the duo's films. I find that a thread that runs through them is a dreamy quality and a sense of not-quite-reality. I think that Resolution is the best (pending me finishing The Endless and actually being able to rank them) because the relationship at the center is so real and it makes for such a great contrast with the unreal elements.

Another movie like that for me is The Invitation. I just found the main character so believable and the relationship dynamics so well-realized. The part where he and his girlfriend and other moments like it gave this grounding to some pretty extreme plot stuff.

I know! "Modern day person ends up back in 80s slasher" should have been a slam dunk. I actually think that You Might Be the Killer does a pretty good job with a very similar dynamic.

With AHS in particular, I didn’t know what the hell they were about with 1984. I never thought AHS was brilliant anyway, but I liked Coven and Cult well enough. 1984 felt like neither horror nor comedy.

Fair enough. I think you can afford to just go and watch it. Then you can always pretend you didn’t, if you all do get together for the occasion.

True, that’s what makes them stand out. The Invitation is good. I like quite a few cult-themed films, so I remember seeking it out. The cast is great and it’s a well-executed low-key narrative. Reminded me of The Veil (2016), but that is *

Karyn Kusama is quite versatile, but it’s still hard to believe the same person made The Invitation and Jennifer’s Body.

LOL. We've already agreed that we have each others' blessing to just watch the thing. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I haven't seen Jennifer's Body (just didn't interest me). But I really love The Invitation (which also happens to star several actors I quite like).

Oooohhhh yeahhhh. Hanger is one of the ugliest flicks I've ever seen. I guess it was funny in that it was so disgusting and over the top you kinda had to laugh but it's not for everybody. I'd recommend checking out Gutterballs first. It's the same director and if that seems up your alley (no pun intended) give Hanger a run. They're different yet similar. I recommended Hanger to a guy at work, a real sicko this guy was and he was pretty mad at me for a couple days.

Motel Hell - Hell Yeah! One of the best and Dead Snow is really good. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Hatchet series. They aren't great but solid, old school gore and a few chuckles. Also, Deathgasm is nifty and The Night of Something Strange has one of the most disgustingly funny scenes ever. It's the kind of scene that overshadows the rest of the movie. My sides hurt I laughed so hard all the while my GF was trying not to puke. Piranha 3D ,eh, guilty pleasure. Dear God, No! and it's sequel Frankenstein Created Bikers are pretty good even though the latter runs a bit long and isn't quite as horror-ish as the first one. Both are disgusting, totally offensive, have no redeeming qualities whatsoever and can be difficult to locate. However if you buy Frankenstein, Dear God is included - or so I've heard...

You didn’t miss much with Jennifer’s Body. Let’s just say it was an early effort better left alone.

I also had the misfortune to watch Zombeavers (2014) a few weeks ago. The lockdown is to blame. My feelings aside, it certainly fits the genre requirements.

I don't usually like horror-comedies but I have to add a film that (I think) hasn't been mentioned yet, Excision (2012). It's pretty decent and pretty dark.

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