Best Comedy Horror Films

The growth of comedy horror films is out of control. This virulent explosion of genre crossovers has buried us under an avalanche of dross. For some reason the comedy horror tag often seems to be used as an excuse to make films that are neither scary nor funny. Thankfully there are a few exceptions to that rule but if you're going to pick something from the overabundance of choices out there you need to be careful. If you're a gambler then take your chances, otherwise check out this list.

Shaun of the Dead

This is the perfect marriage of horror and comedy. The team behind Shaun of the Dead have an obvious appreciation and love of zombie films that really comes through and they had a long history of producing awesome comedy before this release. The resulting zomcom is pure genius with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and enough gore to satisfy most genre fans.

Evil Dead 2

For me nothing comes close to Bruce Campbell's possessed acting in Evil Dead 2, the slapstick fight he has with his own hand is unbelievably good. The comedy is ramped up in the third flick in the series, Army of Darkness. The nice thing about the Evil Dead films is that they don't dispense with the horror. They are chaotic, chilling and hilarious all at the same time.

Braindead or Dead Alive

This is one of the craziest films ever made and it has to take the sickening gross-out gore crown. Timid Lionel's already hideous, overbearing mother gets bitten by a rat-monkey, dies and then comes back to life with a serious appetite. This is rabid zombie action with some seriously funny, chaotic moments.

Drag Me to Hell

Raimi brings the horror comedy magic to life again in this tale of a gypsy curse. It's the slapstick fight scenes with the gypsy and the farcical funeral visit that really produce the laughs here. The horror is pretty light but this is a lot of fun.

Young Frankenstein

This pays homage to the classic horrors and it has a perfectly authentic backdrop (they used the original 30's Frankenstein laboratory). It was also filmed in black and white and uses deliberately dated effects. The actors run riot with the parody but it never steps that far away from the real thing. It satirizes the original Frankenstein movies of the 30's perfectly and it's Mel Brooks' best work.

Severance

Slapstick gore in Eastern Europe as a company team-building trip goes badly wrong and they end up as a ready supply of victims for a band of insane killers. There are some great, darkly comical moments in this movie, plenty of well-acted drug references and there's time for some brutal gore as well. This is a satirical take on the slasher genre, but it delivers the goods for slasher fans as well.

An American Werewolf in London

A couple of American backpackers run afoul of a werewolf in rural England in this sharp and witty horror flick. Landis manages to strike a balance between some genuine horror moments and some great comedy. The hapless hero is a real fish out of water and the film cleverly pokes fun at monster movies while retaining a chilling edge with the most memorable werewolf transformation scene ever.

Zombieland

This is a stylish comedy take on the zombie apocalypse with a great cast and plenty of laughs. The action never lets up, the comic book characterization is great and you simply can't go wrong with a Bill Murray cameo. It's a great zombie film and a great comedy film in one gory package.

Bubba Ho-Tep

Set in a retirement home which is being haunted by an evil soul-sucking mummy from ancient Egypt, Bubba Ho-Tep is all about Bruce Campbell's performance as Elvis which manages to be funny and oddly touching at the same time. Able support from his deluded pal JFK (Ossie Davies) sets the scene for an unlikely face-off of two OAPs versus the evil monster.

Evil Ed

I wanted to stick at least one film on the list that you have probably never heard of so Evil Ed is it. This is a great tribute to eighties splatter about an editor who gradually loses the plot while working on a series of horror films and goes on a gory rampage. It's a low budget affair but it's really inventive and it combines horror and dark comedy really well. Fans of eighties horror will appreciate this spoof.

Honourable Mentions

Gremlins, The Host, Arachnophobia, Ghostbusters, Idle Hands, Return of the Living Dead, From Dusk Til Dawn and Re-Animator.

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