February is notoriously not a great time at the movies, but I just saw two incredible horror comedies that I need to gush about. Lisa Frankenstein was hacked to bits to receive a PG-13 rating, but honestly it was fun, cute, and Diablo Cody’s script ruled. I’m a little late to the party, but I recently watched Thanksgiving and it became one of my favorite slashers. It was smart, disgusting (in a fun way), and as a hater of Eli Roth’s ‘00’s flicks, Thanksgiving was kind of the biggest surprise of my moviegoing year.
I’m used to audiences and critics alike not taking horror comedies seriously, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok. Horror comedies are excellent gateway horror for those apprehensive about the scary stuff. They’re also perfect for people who enjoy comedies but have a bit darker tastes. Horror comedies have the potential to get away with choices that neither horror nor comedies usually can do, carving a little postmodern corner of the genres as well. There are so many horror comedies that deserve a second, third, or fourth visit, so even if you’ve seen some of these films before, I invite you to take another watch.
10. Teeth (2007), dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein
When I first saw Teeth, I wanted to show it to everyone in my life. The comedy was just silly enough that I thought the movie would be universally appealing. Well, reader, it was not. Almost all of my male friends were scared of me, after this, and I frankly don’t blame them. Teeth follows a young religious girl named Dawn (Jess Wexler) who learns that she has vagina dentata. But aside from the hijinks that ensue, the film is in critical conversation with purity culture as it pertains to teenage girls, suburban lower class living (with respect and empathy, in my opinion), and the horrors of r*pe. So, come for the silliness and stay for the smart commentary. Also, Jess Wexler’s performance is amazing, and it’s a shame she didn’t keep acting! But, proud of her.
9. The Blackening (2023), dir. Tim Story
The Blackening was one of my favorite movies of last year. With a meta nod to cabin-in-the-woods horror and Black presence in film, The Blackening follows a group of friends getting together for a Juneteenth celebration at a cabin in the woods. There they find a racist game in the basement that quizzes them on Black history. But the stakes are high, because if they get a question wrong, it might just cost them their life. This film felt a lot like Saw meets The Cabin in the Woods (which may or may not appear later on this list…), and all of the actors were fantastic with most of them coming from tv (Grace Byers from Empire, Jay Pharaoh from SNL, etc). I hope I get to see them in more movies!
8. Happy Death Day (2017), dir. Christopher Landon
A college student named Tree is caught in a Groundhog’s Day-esque loop, getting murdered over and over by her school’s mascot who happens to be a giant baby. Unlike movies like Lisa Frankenstein, this movie benefits immensely from its PG-13 rating, as its consistent tone suggests that it was genuinely conceived to be a great gateway to the slasher genre for younger viewers. Happy Death Day was also the breakout film for director Christopher Landon, and Jessica Rothe gives an excellent performance as Tree. The second movie is not as good as this one, in my opinion, so stick with this classic. It’s horror canon.
7. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), dir. Halina Reijn
Bodies Bodies Bodies is one of those movies that just stick with you. You find yourself thinking about it randomly, remembering how funny it is. Or at least, that’s what happened to me. Everytime I watch this movie, my star rating goes higher and higher. A group of wealthy young adults gather for a “hurricane party,” where they play the Mafia-esque game Bodies Bodies Bodies. When someone ends up dead, the group doesn’t know who to trust. This is a star studded cast of young performers (Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakolova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennot) really giving it their all. The jokes are immensely relevant to the current moment and the lighting is utilized beautifully in a strange dark house. Plus, I recently learned that the spec script was by Kristen Roupenian the writer who wrote that viral 2017 short story “Cat Person,” but the screenplay was written by a helluva good playwright Sarah DeLappe. God, I love playwrights writing films…
6. Housebound (2014), dir. Gerard Johnstone
My horror-loving friend recommended this movie to me as an easy watch, and I sat on that recommendation for years before finally diving in. New Zealand film director Gerard Johnstone helms Housebound, a haunted house movie starring Morgana O’Reilly as a young woman named Kylie who is on house arrest in a haunted house. The ghosts are more comical than scary, and Kylie’s family is downright hilarious. As viewers, we are meant to identify with Kylie who doesn’t scare easily, so the audience reaction is less of fright and more delight. Housebound is one that is definitely more of a funny movie than anything downright chilling. Plus, Johnstone is the only director who has two movies on this list. Read on to find out what else he directed…
5. Jennifer’s Body (2009), dir. Karyn Kusama
One of the iconic horror comedies, Jennifer’s Body is surprisingly more horrific than you may remember. Jennifer and her best friend Needy couldn’t be more opposite. After a fire at a local dive bar, Jennifer disappears and returns… different. After being completely mismarketed, the film has found a large group of fans in later years singing its praises. Director Karyn Kusama and writer Diablo Cody are a match made in heaven, seamlessly blending genres like folk horror and high school comedy to create this bold feminist slasher set in my home state of Minnesota! It’s a total period piece of the mid-2000’s pop punk scene too.
4. The Cabin in the Woods (2011), dir. Drew Goddard
Listen, you can’t have a list of horror comedies without adding The Cabin in the Woods. The movie follows a group of teenagers going on vacation to a cabin in the woods. The teens start to morph into slasher stereotypes (The Jock, The Fool, The Virgin, etc) and find themselves in a series of cliches. If you love horror or hate horror, you’ll most likely enjoy The Cabin in the Woods, as it smartly pokes fun at the genre. Just know that it is a bit bloodier than you’d expect, and veers into some sci-fi territory as well.
3. カメラを止めるな! One Cut of the Dead (2017), dir. Shin’ichirō Ueda
Do you like interesting found footage horror? One Cut of the Dead was originally supposed to be a limited-run small budget film featuring a group of unknown actors. After its 6-day screening at a small theater, it started gaining the attention of critics and was more widely distributed. The plot of One Cut of the Dead (originally translated from Japanese to “Don’t Stop the Camera!”) follows Japanese film crew is attempting to film a zombie movie in the countryside. They are filming this movie for live television and must do it in one take. What they don’t know is that zombies are real, and that they are about to be under attack. It’s like Fawlty Towers level humor here, and I’m so down.
2. M3GAN (2022), dir. Gerard Johnstone
Another Gerard Johnstone film! It’s not a secret that I love this little murderous doll. This movie is camp with a capital-C. Here’s the plot: a kid named Cady loses her parents and has to live with her aunt, Gemma, a toy designer. In an attempt to connect with her niece, Gemma lets Cady play with M3GAN, a new life-sized AI doll. But M3GAN has a mind of her own, and a deadly agenda. Akeela Cooper’s masterful script is the real gem of this film. All of the characters are pretty annoying, but somehow I didn’t even care because they were written and played so ridiculously and funny. Again, this is one that you can show to your non-horror friends and know that they won’t be scared.
1. Get Out (2017), dir. Jordan Peele
Get Out is both a horror comedy and the realest movie I’ve seen in a while. What can I say about it that hasn’t already been said? From the horror king himself Jordan Peele, Get Out follows an African American man named Chris as he travels to meet with his white girlfriend’s parents for the first time. The result is a smart and scary social satire commenting on the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) racism of rich white people. Jordan Peele got his start in comedy, so you know that the jokes are going to be extremely clever. This is a fun movie to see whether you’re with a group of friends or by yourself on an airplane (my latest viewing). If you for some reason haven’t seen this movie, you should definitely watch it.
Have I missed any important ones? What are your favorite horror comedies?
Chloe's Not Scared 