Scared Silly: Top 31 Horror Comedies: 1. Ghostbusters (1984)

17. Return of the Living Dead (1985)

"Apparently, 1985 was a good year for horror comedies. Dan O?Bannon (writer of Alien) wrote and directed this quirky punk rock zombie fest. Return of the Living Dead plays like zombies crashing the party in the Beastie Boys ?(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)? music video. I love it. Plus, you got Linnea Quigley as Trash, the iconic morbid punk/amateur nudist with a shock of red hair."

 

Totally agreed. He makes the movie in my opinion; it's a great premise for a character and McDowell owns it. Sarandon is gleefully over the top as the vampire.

 

16. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)

"And now, things get a bit Tromatic? Troma, the studio that seems to celebrate their god-given right to offend whoever they want, presents Lloyd Kaufman?s tale of a fast food restaurant (American Chicken Bunker) built on an ancient Indian burial ground and the subsequent curse, which turns anyone who eats the food into a zombie chicken? Yeah? it?s amazing? though, definitely not for everyone. It?s gloriously gross and offensive and I?m all for it, but those with somewhat sensitive sensibilities might want to avoid this one."

 

Return of the Living Dead was the zombie movie that made me love zombie movies.

 

15. Slither (2006)

'From Troma alumni, James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead), Slither is a tale of alien invasion/zombie apocalypse that hints at Gunn?s time with Troma, without being quite as ecstatically egregious. There are alien slugs, slimy mutants, and a town full of zombies who are all in love with Elizabeth Banks, which is understandable. She?s great. So is the rest of the cast, including: Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, and Jenna Fischer. It?s funny. It?s disgusting. Slither is a great warm up for Troma movie.'

 

14. Army of Darkness (1992)

"Yes, we finally get some Sam Raimi. It?s a horror comedy list? did you really think I?d leave him off? Here we have the silliest of the Evil Dead trilogy. Wise-guy skeletons, wacky Deadites, and boom stick action abound. Ash is still the man. ?Hail to the king, baby.? What horror geek doesn?t love Bruce Campbell?"

 

I actually thought the 2nd one was FAR superior - I was actually in pain watching it because I was laughing so hard! So I kind of viewed the 3rd one as a disappointment after that, maybe it would have been different had I seen Army of Darkness 1st.

 

This should be number 1

 

Recently watched the whole trilogy for the first time and I was surprised to find that the first one has very little comedy in it. It's pretty much straight horror. (Plus the "rape by tree" scene was just terrible.) As I am not a horror fan by any stretch of the mind, AoD is the one I enjoyed the most.

Then there's Evil Dead: The Musical, which is actually my favorite take on the whole series. Follows the general plot of ED/ED2 while including the most memorable lines from AoD. Add in songs such as "What the *&^% was That?" and "Ode to an Accidental Stabbing" and you get a really enjoyable two hours.

 

13. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

"Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez together, doing a bank robbery-road trip-vampire-action-horror-comedy? YES PLEASE!!! From the opening scene with good ol? Earl McGraw (Michael Parks) you?re in for a treat. It features Harvey Keitel being his usual bad-ass self, as well as George Clooney?s breakout performance, bolstered by a hilarious supporting cast including: Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Quentin Tarantino, and Cheech Marin. Also, there?s a special place in my heart for this movie because the first time I watched it was with my mom? I?ll never forget her reaction when the Geckos and company arrived at the Titty Twister just in time for Cheech Marin?s? sales pitch? priceless."

 

Two words......Snake Woman.

 

"From Dusk Till Dawn" ahead of either "Army of Darkness" or "Return of the Living Dead" is just wrong. The best part of the film is before they get to the vampires. Once it gets to that part it becomes a watered down version of the Evil Dead films. Not as scary or as funny as either film. It also has laughs where I don't think they were intended. All the vampire make up looks terrible, and just undermines whatever threat is supposed to be there.

I love "Return of the Living Dead"! I was lucky enough to see it when it opened. It was a great time and something new, scary yet it did have laughs. At the time this wasn't something typically done with horror films. Also the bleak ending set up sequels yet none came close to the success of this one. I would vote this or Evil Dead 2 as the best of the Horror/Comedy genre.

 

11. The Evil Dead (1981)

"Ah, yes? where it all began for Ash. Regardless of whether or not it was intended as a horror comedy, The Evil Dead has some pretty hilarious moments. There?s just something intrinsically funny about Raimi?s Deadites and their mischievous shenanigans, always cackling and mocking as they attempt to swallow your soul."

 

So true.

 

The man speaks the truth.

 

I think Evil Dead 1 is closer to straight horror than this lets on. It has some pretty grisly stuff in it although Raimi's humor comes through with a really black filter.

Army of Darkness is a much sounder and funnier horror comedy than the original Evil Dead.

 

Agreed. The first Evil Dead belongs on a horror list. Yes, it has some humorous moments and some darker comedy, but it's really going for the shoestring budget creep-out. They didn't really embrace the comedy until the sequel.

 

Agree with the general consensus here: Evil Dead is so not a comedy that, when the sequel hit theaters in 1987, I lined up with all the fans, frothing to see what had been billed as "the only movie scarier than The Evil Dead", and was sorely disappointed to discover that ED2 was a satirical send-up of the original. Jesus, I was mad at Raimi and Tapert for that!

I wouldn't discover the sequel's genius till years later, when watching it on late-night video with a room full of people, we all erupted in gales of laughter and surprise. It was then I understood its crowd-pleasing comedic genius and artful camera-work.

 

10. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

"I remember the first time I saw this I was surprised that it was a comedy. As a kid, I was always so creeped out by the cover image on the video, David and Jack alone on the moors with the moon looming over them. I think it?s John Landis? humor that punctuated the horror and made it more terrifying when I was a kid. It might not scare me anymore, but I still love An American Werewolf in London. Also, it?s got my favorite (and Rick Baker?s Academy Award-winning) werewolf transformation."

 

9. Terror Firmer (1999)

"Another Troma movie? it?s disgusting, it?s offensive, it?s ridiculously campy? what can I say? I grew up watching The Toxic Avenger marathons on USA. Troma is in my blood. I love the way Lloyd Kaufman and company relish in revolting. Terror Firmer is a celebration of unabashedly crass, uncompromising, corporate-bashing independent cinema, that just happens to feature a man-eating escalator, a de-fetusing, a man beaten to death with his own leg, a naked man running around Time Square, and pickles? oh, god, the pickles? You?ll never look at pickles the same way again. Again, Terror Firmer is not for the weak-willed. Unless you work for Troma, this trailer is NSFW?"

 

Great funny, scary film. Rick Baker at the height of mechanical, foam latex appliances.

The nazi-monsters dream sequence...

Long time ago.

Too bad Landis had to start decapitating his cast members with helicopters.