At first glance, comedy and horror appear to be completely opposite genres. After all, happiness and fear are on opposite ends of the emotion wheel, the former being associated with pleasure and the latter being associated with extreme discomfort. But when you look closer at the two, the comedy and horror genres evoke the intended emotions from an audience using strikingly similar methods. Both revel in the absurd. Both construct their stories by going over the top. Even their byproducts — a laugh at a comedy film and a scream at a horror film — are created by setting an audience up and taking them by surprise (probably why we see so many comedy writers and directors branching out into horror — Jordan Peele, David Gordon Greene, and Kevin Smith are just a few names that come to mind.)
Despite these similarities, films that blend comedy and horror are somewhat of a rarity, which is a shame because we find belly laughs and cries of terror pair quite well in the moviegoing experience. Here are ten films that do an excellent job of delivering both, from a romp through the zombie-infested streets of Los Angeles to the laboratory of Frankenstein's estate to a quiet suburb stirred by a trio of kooky witches.
Zombieland (2009)
(Columbia/TriStar)
Just as people were beginning to tire of zombie movies, Zombieland shuffled onto the scene and reinvigorated the subgenre. Neurotic Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has managed to survive by following his strict set of survival rules, which he imparts to fellow survivors Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) as they make their way to a supposed safe zone in Los Angeles. Heaping portions of laughter and gore — as well as a surprise appearance from Bill Murray — bring the romp through Zombieland to life.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
(Ghost House Pictures)
Director Sam Raimi of Evil Dead fame is at his best with Drag Me to Hell, blending genuine chills and laughs with ease. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) enjoys a blissful life with a loving boyfriend (Justin Long) and a successful job at a Los Angeles bank. But when she denies a loan to an old woman who turns out to have witchy powers, she is consumed by a malevolent curse that puts her soul on the fast-track to an eternity in Hell. What it takes to reverse the spell might be more than she can bear.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
Magnolia Pictures
Two shabby friends are in for an insane ride after a group of college kids staying in a cabin in the woods mistake them for murderers. Tucker & Dale vs Evil revs up its chainsaw and carves up horror movie cliches with biting wit, fantastic scares, and even some sentimentality.
This Is The End (2013)
Columbia Pictures
This ensemble cast of very funny people — including Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and many others — have a blast playing and roasting themselves as a biblical apocalypse tears the world in half and they hole up in Franco's LA mansion.
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
Two Canoes Pictures
In this hilarious and clever mockumentary-style comedy, a group of vampire roommates (Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh) open up their doors and their coffins to give us a look at the ups and downs of their day to day — and century-to-century — lives.
Beetlejuice (1988)
Warner Bros.
A recently-deceased couple needs help scaring away the insufferable family that has moved into the house they haunt, so they turn to the services of the deranged and unpredictable Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). This creepy yet funny Tim Burton classic is off the rails and full of charm.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Twentieth Century Fox
This wickedly funny Mel Brooks classic pays homage to the original while spoofing it silly. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is a widely respected medical lecturer who heads to Transylvania upon inheriting his grandfather's estate. He picks up the diabolical experiments where his grandfather left off, but complications arise when Frankenstein's fiancée (Madeline Kahn) shows up.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Walt Disney Pictures
Teenager Max Dennison (Omri Katz) accidentally unleashes a trio of witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) and with the help of a magical cat, he must stop them from attaining immortality. Hocus Pocus was panned by critics and flopped at the box office despite its fantastic cast, but it's gone on to become a nostalgic Halloween favorite for millennials, a comfort akin to snagging a few fun-size candy bars from your kids' trick-or-treating haul.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Rogue Pictures
Thirty-something Shaun (Simon Pegg) is living in a small, messy flat with his slacker buddy, Ed (Nick Frost). He largely ignores his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) as she pushes him to grow up, but when a zombie outbreak overruns the town, Shaun has to step up and become the man Liz has always wanted him to be. Dry, intelligent satire meets bloody scares in this brilliant mixture of comedy and horror.
Ghostbusters (1984)
Columbia Picture
When a team of quirky scientists (Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray) lose their cushy jobs at a university in NYC, they become full-fledged "ghostbusters" for hire, cruising around the city in their teched-out Cadillac and running pest control on a number of irritating spirits. But when they stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, the evil within may be more than their proton packs can handle. This action-packed blend of humor and '80s special effects is an extremely fun ride — and one of the most iconic films of all time.
