The Best Horror Comedies Everyone Should Watch

The world can be an awfully dreary place sometimes, one rife with contention and a painfully depressing news cycle. Escapism, in the form of cinematic entertainment, can sometimes be the best bet to assuage the negativity that occasionally pervades the human experience. In the eyes of some, horror films can add to the bleakness. But to those who appreciate the genre to the fullest, who find beauty in the practical effects, laughter in the preposterousness and a wink from the monster as it consumes its prey, mixing comedy amidst the images of misery, death, and chaos can have the opposite effect. Lost among the darkness and the macabre themes, it just might be helping us cope with our own adversities.

But it takes a true artist to perform the wizardry necessary for successfully layering the touchstones of horror with satire, irony, or a bit of sarcasm to instill levity and laughter in scenarios that may seem hellish on their surface. When done properly, magic takes shape in the form of a raucously good time laughing at the dread of others on screen. The best of these films achieve immortality, creating cult followings that — ironically — make sure they'll never die.

Horror comedies come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them revel in over-the-top gore, satirizing the bloody tales of a certain sect; these horror comedies have become lovingly dubbed as "splatstick" comedies by some fans. Other films under the horror comedy banner might parody some of the greatest horror flicks to grace cinema, while breaking the fourth wall a bit. Whatever the case may be, there's something for everyone who loves both genres. Here are the best horror comedies that everyone should see at least once.

A direct sequel to "Evil Dead 2," "Army of Darkness" depicts Ash trapped in the past. The ending of the prior film depicted the wayward character being pulled through a portal to the past, along with the rest of the evil. He's now trapped in the Dark Ages, and reluctantly agrees to help warring kingdoms fend off the demonic incursions of the Kandarian demons.

Humorously, Ash explains his methods to the knights of the past for eliminating evil using his "boomstick" (shotgun) and his chainsaw-wielding arm. He also takes advantage of his future knowledge and pitifully attempts to pose as a womanizing hero. The grocery store clerk-turned-demon slayer sets off on a quest to defeat the evil so that he can return home. Eventually, Ash does find his way home, only to return to his reckless, demon-fighting ways decades later in the "Ash vs Evil Dead" Starz series — which further amps up the gore and humor of original films.

To be clear, there isn't a first or second film preceding "Dude Bro Party Massacre III"; that's part of the joke out the gate, and gives you an idea of the humor you can expect. The intro to the film states that "Dude Bro Party Massacre III" was a film shown only once, late night, and the only reason it continues to exist is due to a solitary individual who taped it on his VCR. The film is grainy like a VHS tape, and even has (fake) commercials interspersed throughout.

"Dude Bro Party Massacre III" follows Brent (Alec Owen), who is looking to find out who murdered his twin brother Brock. Brock was previously part of a fraternity, so Brent joins the fraternity himself in hopes of tracking down his brother's killer. The film is wild and over-the-top with jokes reaching absurd levels, such as referencing the fraternity's junior-year prank where they blew up a dam and drowned an entire town. In fact, their pranks, which always result in collateral damage and many deaths, go unpunished by the school's leadership. A serial killer by the name of Motherface (Olivia Taylor Dudley) emerges to take retribution on the fraternity. Brock, Brent's brother, was one of the first murders. This film takes absurdity and cranks it up to level 10. Some may not appreciate the nonsensical humor at play, but regardless, the film makes its mark in the realm of horror-comedy.

Framed as a mockumentary, "What We Do In The Shadows" tells the story of four vampires who live as roommates. The film stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi as two of the vampire roommates who seek to navigate life as the undead, depicting them via confessionals that chronicle a daily existence filled with squabbling and bickering over trivial things. They also attempt to relate to humans and showcase the particularities of each vampire and their feeding habits. Filled with witty banter and jokes from Clement and Waititi, it's unlike any other horror/comedy before it.

The film features other facets of classic horror monsters, including a pack of werewolves who are constantly chaining themselves down so they won't roam ravenous throughout the hillsides. The werewolves have a humorous beef with the vampires that devolves into name-calling and petulant playground behavior between the groups. "What We Do In The Shadows" is a must-see for fans of the classic horror monsters. The success of the film also inspired a TV series on FX under the same name that is well worth checking out.

While you'll usually see "Hatchet" listed as a "slasher-horror" film, it's also very much a comedy, albeit one well-versed in its genre trappings. Written and directed by Adam Green, "Hatchet" tells a story of some tourists who embark on an illicit boat excursion through a haunted swamp outside of New Orleans. The legend of the swamp tells of a murderous man who was accidentally killed by his own father. Inexplicably immortal or supernatural by nature, the man — Victor Crowley — returns time and time again to disembowel anyone who enters his swamp. The film is overstuffed with cameos from horror icons, including Kane Hodder (aka Jason Vorhees), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and Tony Todd (Candyman).

Ben Schaefer (Joel Moore) and his friend Marcus (Deon Richmond) wind up on the boat tour, thanks to Ben's desire to do something different to distance himself from the Mardi Gras festivities. As expected, the boatload full of people find themselves being hunted by Crowley. The vengeful monster kills his victims in the most ridiculously over-the-top ways, as the absurdity adds to the morbid humor and frequently hilarious banter of people attempting to survive the terror. "Hatchet" spawned three sequels, each more absurd than the last.

Released at the turn of the century and forming its own little cottage industry of horror spoofs, "Scary Movie" capitalized off the popularity of the Wes Craven horror flick "Scream." The comedy feels like a Zucker-Abrams-Zucker type parody of Craven's movie (David Zucker would take over from Keenan Ivory Wayans for several of the sequels), as teens are stalked and murdered by a serial killer adorned in a stoner-like variation on Ghostface mask. The slapstick-style humor is prevalent throughout the film, with plenty of references to other late '90s films/pop culture touchstones as well.

While the film focused on parodying the overall plot of "Scream," there are jokes that center on "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Sixth Sense," "The Blair Witch Project," "The Matrix," and others. The film would have four sequels of varying quality and impact. The series helped make household names out of folks like Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, and Regina Hall, and although the franchise died out sometime around 2013's "Scary Movie V," the films are fun time capsules to look back on nowadays.

"Gremlins" introduced audiences to the cute, cuddly mogwai known as Gizmo — and the manic monsters who accompanied him if you fed him after midnight. This sequel ratchets up the insanity of the first film substantially, bolstered by jokes about everything from Donald Trump to Hulk Hogan to late night horror hosts and cooking shows. 

This time around, the mischievous creatures take over a lab and proceed to wreak havoc while killing some of the staff. Each gremlin has its own personality, many mimicking humans; we also a bat-gremlin, a talking gremlin, a lady gremlin, and one that seems inspired by Daffy Duck. As the human desperately try to reign sunlight down upon them, the clever critters take over an entire building, resulting in sheer anarchic chaos. In the minds of some, "Gremlins 2" was a disappointment; for others, it's a minor masterpiece of ambition that took the franchise to a whole new level.

Writer Drew Goddard ("Lost" and the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV show) made his directorial debut with the remarkably brilliant premise of "exposing" the origins of the slashers, monsters and imperiled teens we've all come to expect from the horror genre. With "The Cabin in the Woods," Chris Hemsworth's Curt Vaughan accompanies some buddies on a respite at a remote cabin for a weekend. Little do they realize, the friends are about to become part of an ancient sacrificial scenario. The film is filled with too many twists and turns that deserve to never be spoiled, but here's the highest praise "Woods" could receive: If you haven't yet seen the film for the first time, consider us jealous of all you're about to uncover.

The clever script contains references to horror of all kinds, and the more familiarized you are with the genre, the more you'll get out of it. The film is dark, bloody, but impossibly hilarious at times, as it breaks down a world of horror stories popularized by film, then constructs a wholly new narrative around them.