Summary:
- Horror Comedy movies are an interesting genre blend that has a wide selection of movies to pick from.
- In this list, we have curated the most unique and the most hilarious horror comedy movies.
- This includes movies from the 1970s up until 2023.
We all love a good scary movie to keep us in the spooky mood during Halloween. But if you want a funny horror movie or a lighthearted spooky film, we have compiled a list of the best horror comedy movies to watch during Halloween. To keep things fresh, I have only included movies that have gone under the radar despite being the absolute funniest. We haven’t included obvious classics like Scary Movie or Evil Dead that you can find with a simple Google search.
Table of Contents
1. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)
- IMDb rating: 7.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90% (Tomatometer) and 87% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 3.9/5
- Runtime: 1h 30m
- Director: Ariane Louis-Seize
If not for the best horror comedy movies list, it would definitely come under the movies with the best title list, if we ever made one. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is a French movie, and as the name suggests, it follows a young vampire who’s unable to kill her victims. She lives with her parents, who often go hunting to keep her fed.
The movie is actually a coming-of-age story about finding yourself that is cleverly disguised as an interesting vampire story. It hits all the right emotional beats while also looking absolutely gorgeous in every frame.
2. House (1977)
- IMDb rating: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90% (Tomatometer) and 78% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 4.0/5
- Runtime: 1h 28m
- Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi
House is an over-the-top fun ride that subverts classic horror tropes into comedy. You will have instances of characters casually talking to a severed head or a piano devouring a girl. It’s fair to call this movie a psychedelic horror comedy that thrives on absurdity.
Visually, the film is unlike anything else and is baffling even to think that the idea was conceived in the 70s. House incorporates hand-drawn and stop-motion animation, blending them with live action to create a surreal, almost dreamlike atmosphere. If you like this film, do check out the late director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s other films with similar whimsical style.
3. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92% (Tomatometer) and 93% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 3.9/5
- Runtime: 1h 39m
- Director: Edgar Wright
I said I won’t include obvious horror comedy classics, but Shaun of the Dead is too close to my heart and too good to be left out of this list. Shaun of the Dead is Edgar Wright’s second theatrical release, which made him the household name he is now, allowing him to direct movies based on Stephen King novels.
With an obvious dig at the classic horror title Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead is the quintessential horror comedy movie. It takes every zombie trope you can think of and flips it on its head, delivering a gut-punch of a movie which you can feel, even as you’re laughing your ass off on the couch.
4. One Cut of the Dead (2017)
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100% (Tomatometer) and 84% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 4.1/5
- Runtime: 1h 36m
- Director: Shinichiro Ueda
Since we’re on the zombie train, let’s pick One Cut of the Dead. The title might sound like a knockoff of Shaun of the Dead, with the trailer even calling it “the best zombie comedy since Shaun of the Dead.” But this horror comedy movie is so much more than just another clever subversion of the done-to-death zombie genre.
The plot follows a director shooting a low-budget zombie movie, but things go sideways when actual zombies show up. The movie starts off being a bit confusing at first, but by the time it reaches the third act, it transforms into one of the funniest and unexpectedly heartwarming zombie films you’ll ever see.
It can easily be considered one of the best horror comedy movies of the decade. I won’t reveal more details here since the best way to experience it is without knowing anything about it.
5. Slither (2006)
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87% (Tomatometer) and 63% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 3.2/5
- Runtime: 1h 35m
- Director: James Gunn
Are you a fan of the new DCU movies of James Gunn or any of the Guardians movies? Chances are, if you can fathom even a bit of superheroes, you would’ve loved one of Gunn’s movies. However, before Gunn went on to direct DC movies, he worked on one of the best horror comedies ever made.
Slither was the directorial debut of James Gunn. The movie follows a town being turned into monsters and zombies because of aliens. It’s gross, gory, and absolutely not something you should watch while eating. That said, Slither is a perfect glimpse into Gunn’s humble beginnings as a director. You get to see Gunn’s signature twisted humor and heart, which he’s now famous for.
6. Young Frankenstein (1974)
- IMDb rating: 8.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95% (Tomatometer) and 92% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 4.0/5
- Runtime: 1h 46m
- Director: Mel Brooks
Young Frankenstein is arguably the greatest horror comedy ever made, and rightfully so. The movie is a love letter to the 1930s Frankenstein movie and the golden age of black-and-white horror. The movie manages to be absolutely hilarious while also being a heartfelt tribute.
Shot on the actual sets used in Universal’s original Frankenstein, Mel Brooks truly created something masterful, which, paired with the manic energy of Gene Wilder, is just comedy genius. The story follows Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson (played by Wilder), who inherits his grandfather’s estate and ends up creating his own Frankenstein’s monster. What follows is a chaotic and timeless blend of horror and humor.
7. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96% (Tomatometer) and 87% (Popcornmeter)
- Letterboxd Rating: 4.1/5
- Runtime: 1h 26m
- Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Are you a fan of The Office? If you are, imagine a horror comedy movie shot in the same format as The Office. Well, What We Do in the Shadows is just that. This horror comedy movie is Taika Waititi’s magnum opus that put him on the map, way before he directed his first MCU movie or Jojo Rabbit.
However, he’s not the only one helming the project; the movie is also co-directed by Jemaine Clement. Both directors play the lead as one of the vampires and are a joy to watch on screen. The movie is a clever parody of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that follows a group of vampires trying (and often failing) to carve their identity in a modern world, all captured in the classic mockumentary-style format.
