The 40 Funniest Scary Movies Ever Made
Mix a little bit of terror with a touch of humor and you end up with a cathartic horror comedy like no other.
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It pains me to say this as a former horror-movie fanatic, but I can’t stomach scary movies anymore. There’s too much gore! It’s nauseating. Call me a weenie, but I need a little humor to mitigate all that death and torment. If you’re also struggling to cope with today’s scary movies, allow me to reintroduce you to the humble horror comedy.
It might sound contradictory—what’s funny about death?—but horror comedies hit a cinematic sweet spot. Think about it: Wouldn’t The Exorcist have been a bit easier to watch if it had a sense of humor? How about Carrie? Maybe I wouldn’t have been so horrified if one of her classmates had cracked a joke about the pig-blood incident.
Unfortunately, it’s too late to change the past, but there are plenty of horror comedies to watch instead. Below, we’ve rounded up forty options to choose from. There are classics like Heathers and newbies like The Menu, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Cocaine Bear. We can’t promise a scream-free experience, but at least you’ll laugh, too.
The Menu (2022)
The Menu takes life as a foodie to a whole new level. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Margot, a young woman who attends an elite dining experience with her date, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult). He’s obsessed with the head chef and promises the night will be “madness.” As it turns out, that’s no exaggeration. Let the high jinks begin!
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a comedic whodunit from A24. A crew of twenty-somethings take a weekend trip to their friend’s mansion. When a hurricane hits, they’re forced to stay inside and pass the time with a party game that goes hilariously wrong.
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
In this loose adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein tale, Kathryn Newton plays a quirky teenager who turns a Victorian-era corpse into her boyfriend. Why date regular boys when you can build a man from scratch? Apparently, all it takes is determination, a sense of humor, and a few fresh body parts.
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
The Dead Don’t Die takes place in Centerville—a fictional town with a big problem. The dead have risen from their graves, and they’re hungry for blood. The vicious attacks compel an unlikely group of residents to band together in a hysterical bid for survival. Did we mention that Bill Murray stars as a sheriff turned zombie hunter?
M3GAN (2022)
No one’s done a combo of hilarious and spine-chilling as well as M3GAN. The film about a robot doll/BFF who ends up being a lot more than a little girl bargained for? It’s perfect. How can you forget M3GAN bursting into a flawless rendition of Sia’s “Titanium” right after pushing a preteen boy in front of a car? Or her fabulous dance moves before she chases down a grown man with a makeshift machete? There are so many memorable moments in this campy modern classic that you have to watch it a couple times to catch them all.
The Lost Boys (1987)
Vampires stalking an idyllic coastal Californian town—ring a bell? Well, this Joel Schumacher feature is anything but familiar. In the creepy, bloodsucker-infested film, the vampires aren’t afraid of garlic, even when Corey Haim and Corey Feldman trick one into dumping loads of it on his spaghetti. What do the vampires enjoy? They love to ride motorcycles—and can turn your Chinese food into maggots. This eighties romp has its fair share of scares, but it makes sure to dial up the fun along the way.
Cocaine Bear (2023)
We’ve entered an era of fully embracing camp—and we’re better off for it. And what does camp mean nowadays? To me, it’s when you take a real-life story about a bear that accidentally ingests cocaine—dropped by drug smugglers!—and turn it into a tight ninety-five minutes of over-the-top, hyper-violent, and manic shenanigans. If you want to watch drug dealers, school-ditching kids, and Ray Liotta shine in one of his last roles, this is for you.
Housebound (2014)
Housebound takes on the classic haunted-house trope and injects it with scenes marked by gags and impeccable timing. Sure, the film is technically a horror comedy, but the narrative is darker than you might expect. Kylie, a young woman sentenced to house arrest at her parents’ home, becomes convinced supernatural forces are in her midst. As the scares get worse, she investigates the truth behind the house...and uncovers the unexpected.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Encountering zombies under any circumstance is usually not ideal, but for a director in the midst of filming a low-budget film about zombies, it’s terrifyingly convenient. Instead of running and hiding for dear life, a director pushes his crew to hit record and document the ravenous, flesh-eating monsters.
Urban Legend (1998)
Not exactly humorous, but this late-nineties thriller is a hidden gem in the horror genre. Similar to Courteney Cox in Scream, a relentless reporter—here played by Jared Leto—tries to unveil the murderer on campus for his college newspaper. Even with the ridiculous premise, the combination of having Leto on his trail and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) as a professor makes this film worth watching even if it’s not the most sidesplitting of the bunch.
Fresh (2022)
A recent release that’s bound to become a classic. Having no success with the modern-day horrors of dating (aka dating apps), a young woman meets Sebastian Stan’s Steve, who plays a real ladykiller, a man who has an appetite for the exquisite—human meat!
Ready or Not (2019)
Here’s a unique spin on the final-girl trope, as a bride tries to make it out alive in a game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws. Between laugh-out-loud moments, a strong performance from Samara Weaving as Grace—a newlywed who has the worst first night of marriage imaginable—and a mere ninety-minute run time, your mind never wanders as you wait for what gory kill comes next.
Heathers (1988)
The iconic line “F*** me gently with a chainsaw” was born in this original mean-girls eighties film, featuring goth queen Winona Ryder covering up murders and labeling them as suicides by blaming the stereotype of teenage depression. The black comedy gained a massive following, with the story being developed for Broadway and TV.
American Psycho (2000)
Let’s see Paul Allen’s card. Starring Batman (Christian Bale) and the Joker (Jared Leto), this satire will have you laughing at the most serious times. Bale’s legendary performance leaves you wondering if what you just watched actually happened and the characters are too self-obsessed to notice, or if it is all in his imagination, sparked by his inner turmoil.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Despite the name, this 2009 release is a hilarious, clever, and fun-to-watch film that constantly pushes your buttons. In true Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) fashion, the odd sense of humor completely works—plus, the director shows he’s not afraid to take risks with the controversial ending.
Child's Play (2019)
An adaptation of the eighties classic with the same little boy, Andy, and his cute doll, Chucky, who becomes overprotective and tries to kill anyone close to him. What makes this remake hold more weight than the original, though, is how Chucky learns to kill by picking up mannerisms from the violent horror movies he watches with Andy. Not only does Chucky play a huge role in the comedy aspect, but Aubrey Plaza (as Andy’s mom) is on standby, adding heaps of extra laughs.
Freaky (2020)
No, it’s not Freaky Friday or Friday the 13th— it’s both! Freaky is the third movie directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) that makes a non-horror premise horrifying. By combining the story lines of the above films, this becomes an unconventional watch from Blumhouse Productions that actually succeeds.
Serial Mom (1994)
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
Not the usual black comedy. Beyond just scares and laughs, Tucker & Dale has heart, teaching you not to judge a book by its cover. It dismisses common stereotypes, like the role of an intimidating antagonist in most horror movies, and instead makes you root for the main characters, who are misunderstood because of their appearance.
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