Horror Howlers: 10 Movies to Make You Die Laughing

We like horror movies because they keep us waiting in suspense for that inevitable yet unexpected jolt. Similarly, the biggest laughs in comedies also arise from the unexpected. It stands to reason, then, that some of the best entertainment comes from movies that combine the two.  Hence, here are my own picks for top 10 horror comedies…or are they comedy horrors? A word of warning: there's heavy gore in these tongue-in-cheek (or is that, "tongue-ripped-out-of-cheek"?) tales, but sometimes the darker the comedy, the more memorable the laughs.

(2004 Rogue Pictures)

1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

The brainchild of Brit director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg, this rom-zom-com pays homage to every undead flick you can think of, from Romero's  Dawn of the Dead  series to 28 Days Later. A London slacker abruptly finds motivation when zombies take over the city. Holed up in a bar, he must save his loved ones while chowing on fried pork rinds, trading wisecracks with his loser roommate and whacking the ambulatory dead with his cricket bat.

(1987 Renaissance Pictures)

2. Evil Dead II (1987)

The horrifying: a continous point-of-view shot from the point of view of something running its victim down in the dark woods. The hilarious: Bruce Campbell  getting attacked by the hand he has severed <em>from his own arm</em>, which he stabs with his other hand saying  "Uh-huh, that's right. Who's laughing now!" Call it a sequel, call it a remake, call it horror/comedy perfection.

3. Highway to Hell (1992)

If you can find a copy of this out-of-print gem, snap it up. This flick is so weird and wacky you won't know what hit you. Chad Lowe  and Kristy Swanson star as a couple eloping in Las Vegas. On the way, Kristy is kidnapped by a cop from Hell and taken to a bizarro underworld to marry Satan instead. Cool sightings: Lita Ford as a crazy hitchhiker, Gilbert Gottfried  as Hitler, and Ben Stiller  in one of his earliest roles.

4. Seed of Chucky (2004)

The star of this fifth installment of the Child's Play series isn't the killer ventriloquist dummy but Jennifer Tilly, who brilliantly sends up her va-va-voom image and delivers such self-referential lines as, "I'm an Oscar nominee and now I'm ****ing a puppet!" with masochistic glee.

(2007 IFC First Take)

5. Black Sheep (2006)

Violence of the lambs, indeed. A mad scientist's genetic experiment goes b-a-a-d, turning docile sheep into woolly bullies who go for the jugular.  You know what you're in for when the first victim is felled by what looks like a mutant Lamb Chop.

6. Dead Alive (1993)

This entry from Peter Jackson, arguably one of the goriest films ever made, will have you laughing as you suppress the urge to upchuck. Its debauched slapstick works with the sundry decapitations, severed limbs and flayed insides. A gross-out scene with a lawnmower has to be seen to be believed, mostly because there is SO much blood that it becomes impossible to take seriously. 

7. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

John Landis'  horror comedy has stood the test of time better than other films of its ilk. This lycanthropic nail-biter about two backpackers featured groundbreaking and fantastic effects for its time, and skillfully blended comedy with horrific frights without resorting to camp.

8. Return of the Living Dead (1985)

An unabashed homage to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Return also tips its hat to old comics-inspired series like Tales from the Crypt. A couple of bumbling warehouse workers re-animate corpses from a cemetery with toxin meant to be sprayed on marijuana. Did we mention the film's half-dogs (literally cut in half, intended for the science lab) complete with wagging tails?

9.  Creepshow (1982)

George Romero  and Stephen King teamed up for this five-part film that weaves each short story with comic renderings to capture the look and feel of schlocky old horror comic tales. Each segment combines camp with some pretty good jolts, and most everyone gets what they deserve in varying stages of nastiness.

10. Re-Animator (1985)

Jeffrey Combs stars as a med student convinced he can revive the dead—unfortunately, he hasn't worked out all the bugs. David Gale is the university's brain surgery specialist, and together they conduct secret experiments involving talking heads, severed limbs, feral cats and a bad toupee.

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