The Best Horror Comedies You Haven't Seen

Horror and comedy movies have a lot in common. They both require likable actors, novel ideas, and a slow build up to a cathartic emotional release, whether it is through laughing or screaming. It's no surprise then that there are so many incredible horror comedies that combine the best of both worlds, with hilarious bits of dialogue following a gruesome act of violence and vice versa. Still, while you might know some of the classics, like Tremors, Gremlins 2, and Re-Animator, there are plenty of great horror comedies you probably haven't seen.

He might be better known these days as the visionary director behind Thor: Ragnarok, but Taiki Waititi's debut movie What We Do In The Shadows is his real masterpiece. This horror comedy mockumentary follows four vampires that live together in an apartment in New Zealand, each representing a different vampire archetype as they argue over dirty dishes (covered in blood), where to go out on the town, and how to deal with nasty break-ups. Part of the fun is seeing how fundamentally human all these immortal creatures really are, but you'll be howling with laughter once they almost get into a street fight with a group of Werewolves who are just trying their hardest.

Even though What We Do In The Shadows is more of a comedy than other movies on this list, the few moments of horror are genuinely unsettling. A giggling chase through the house, as some unwitting guests are torn apart by the vampires, is equal parts funny and horrifying, and the adept genre blend makes this movie a rarer treat than virgin blood is to a couple of fanged fiends.

Detention is a tough sell for a horror comedy. The most familiar faces in the film are Josh Hutcherson (from The Hunger Games) and Dane Cook, neither of whom are huge audience draws. It is a slasher parody with three other genres melded into it at various moments, and it's directed by Joseph Kahn, who is probably best known for directing Taylor Swift music videos and (the underrated) Torque. But genre enthusiasts who haven't seen Detention are missing out on one of the most consistently surprising, clever movies of the last decade.

The cast is extremely likable (even Dane Cook), the script continually upends your expectations, and the movie's climax hinges on Patrick Swayze in a way that makes surprisingly logical sense and has to be seen to be believed. It's a truly innovative movie, as gleefully self-referential as Cabin in the Woods but much more surprising. It might have been skipped over at the theaters, but it's worth going to Detention now.

Hobo With A Shotgun is a brilliant attempt to bring back the hyperviolent, who-cares-if-it-makes-sense style of classic Troma movies for a new generation, anchored by the not-inconsiderable gravitas of veteran actor Rutger Hauer. The movie follows the eponymous Hobo (played by Hauer) as he moves to a new town ruled by a vicious crime boss and his even worse children.

Does it succeed at re-creating the tone of classic exploitation movies? That's debatable, but what's not debatable is what wild fun the movie is. Part revenge-thriller of a hobo pushed to his limits, part dark fantasy of two immortal assassins (whose past targets seem to include the Easter Bunny, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus) who show up to take said hobo out, the movie's a gory, ridiculous mess — but it's definitely not forgettable. 

It's hard to think of any one scene that epitomizes the movie's ridiculous excess, but The Hobo telling a room full of newborns that they might turn out to be doctors, lawyers, criminals, or hobos intercut with two immortal knights murdering an entire hallway full of doctors might clue viewers into this horror comedy's general style.

A war hero is sent off to exile in the western-most reaches of American expansion as punishment for his unspoken crimes; there, he meets all manner of strange bedfellows. That's the central conceit of Ravenous, but that description doesn't hit on the bizarrely upbeat jingle of the score, the stunt casting of Ferris Bueller's Principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) as one of the main characters, and the vicious, unsettling critique of capitalism as a constant cannibalistic hunt for survival. The movie's a cult classic for a reason; the surreal dialogue and wacky characters (plus one of the all-time worst trailers for any movie) hide a relentlessly grim horror comedy critique of Manifest Destiny with unique cinematography and strong acting. Haven't seen it? Make room in your queue.

Slasher movies usually feature a helpless group of teenagers menaced by a supernaturally strong killer with a knife; home invasion movies follow a similar route. Both subgenres of horror rely on the viewer to be concerned that the soon-to-be victims aren't in a position of power or understanding, just prey for the movie's predator. You're Next flips the script by putting the mumblecore genre — the central conceit of home invasion movies — in a blender with Home Alone until what comes out is a satisfying, violent horror comedy smoothie. The movie's central surprise is part of the fun, so we don't want to spoil it, but trust us when we say that the animal mask-wearing invaders might not be the predators they think they are. What follows is a satisfying, violent movie with a pitch-perfect John Carpenter-esque synth score. If you haven't seen it yet, you'll want to change that as soon as possible.

There's a tradition of real-life bands appearing in movies, from the Bee Gees in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to Smash Mouth cameoing in Rat Race, but no band's had as flattering a portrayal as Guitar Wolf in Wild Zero. This horror comedy is basically an hour-and-a-half treatise of why the real-life band is the coolest in the universe, best exemplified by them defeating alien zombies with the power of rock & roll. It's not the best of the horror comedies on the list, but there's no other movie we can think of where a real-life rock band ends an apocalypse just by rocking hard enough. We'd've liked to see the Bee Gees try that.