my top 40 favorite horror-comedies
by westsalemcongress | created - 19 Oct 2011 | updated - 19 Oct 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Passed | 108 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.
Director: Paul Leni | Stars: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall
Votes: 3,373 | Gross: $0.33M
2. The Cat and the Canary (1939)
Approved | 72 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
When an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.
Director: Elliott Nugent | Stars: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery
Votes: 3,770
3. The Ghost Breakers (1940)
Passed | 85 min | Comedy
A radio broadcaster, his quaking manservant and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas
Votes: 4,162
4. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Horror
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Alfie Bass, Jessie Robins
Votes: 33,879
5. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,970 | Gross: $86.30M
6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 167,026 | Gross: $139.88M
7. Creepshow (1982)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
"Creepshow" is a 1982 movie that tells five grisly tales from a children's comic book: a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall
Votes: 53,277 | Gross: $21.03M
8. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,631 | Gross: $238.63M
9. Gremlins (1984)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
Votes: 247,962 | Gross: $148.17M
10. Re-Animator (1985)
Unrated | 84 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Votes: 71,540 | Gross: $2.02M
11. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
Director: Dan O'Bannon | Stars: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews
Votes: 68,954 | Gross: $14.24M
12. Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
PG | 82 min | Comedy
Two radio voice actors are getting married. Larry has fits of fear. A shrink needs 36 hours to scare him to death and cure him - during a family reunion at a scary family castle.
Director: Gene Wilder | Stars: Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom DeLuise, Jonathan Pryce
Votes: 8,057 | Gross: $8.03M
13. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Levi Stubbs
Votes: 86,447 | Gross: $38.75M
14. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Unrated | 101 min | Comedy, Horror
A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas marshal hunts them.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley
Votes: 38,018 | Gross: $8.03M
15. The Monster Squad (1987)
PG-13 | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr
Votes: 35,326 | Gross: $3.77M
16. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 340,384 | Gross: $73.71M
17. The 'Burbs (1989)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
An overstressed suburbanite and his neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block is part of a murderous Satanic cult.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
Votes: 83,576 | Gross: $36.60M
18. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
The Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.
Directors: Joe Dante, Chuck Jones | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Howie Mandel, Tony Randall
Votes: 112,912 | Gross: $41.48M
19. Shadows and Fog (1991)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy
With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Michael Kirby, David Ogden Stiers
Votes: 18,153 | Gross: $2.74M
20. Army of Darkness (1992)
R | 81 min | Comedy, Horror
When Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie
Votes: 194,445 | Gross: $11.50M
21. Braindead (1992)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Votes: 103,349 | Gross: $0.24M
22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Votes: 375,311 | Gross: $75.08M
23. Cemetery Man (1994)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Horror
A cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.
Director: Michele Soavi | Stars: Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Mickey Knox
Votes: 23,353 | Gross: $0.25M
24. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Horror
Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino
Votes: 340,844 | Gross: $25.75M
25. The Frighteners (1996)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin
Votes: 95,555 | Gross: $16.76M
26. Psycho Beach Party (2000)
Unrated | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Chicklet is a sixteen-year old tomboy who's desperate to be part of the in-crowd of Malibu beach surfers. She's the typical American girl - except for one little problem: her personality is split into more slices than a pepperoni pizza.
Director: Robert Lee King | Stars: Lauren Ambrose, Nicholas Brendon, Thomas Gibson, Kimberley Davies
Votes: 6,602 | Gross: $0.27M
27. Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)
R | 85 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Kung-Fu Action / Comedy / Horror / Musical about the second coming.
Director: Lee Demarbre | Stars: Phil Caracas, Murielle Varhelyi, Maria Moulton, Tim Devries
Votes: 4,617
28. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
When residents of their nursing home start dying of dubious causes, an aged Elvis and an African-American senior who claims to be President John F. Kennedy discover that the perpetrator is an Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy, Ella Joyce
Votes: 51,513 | Gross: $2.00M
29. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 594,311 | Gross: $13.54M
30. Corpse Bride (2005)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Drama, Family
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 299,001 | Gross: $53.36M
31. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.
Directors: Steve Box, Nick Park | Stars: Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Peter Kay
Votes: 146,154 | Gross: $56.11M
32. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Will and Jake Grimm are traveling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires true courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Monica Bellucci, Petr Ratimec
Votes: 126,297 | Gross: $37.92M
33. Fido (2006)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
In an Earthly world resembling the 1950s, a cloud of space radiation has shrouded the planet, resulting in the dead becoming zombies that desire live human flesh. A company called Zomcon ... See full summary »
Director: Andrew Currie | Stars: Kesun Loder, Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Kaye
Votes: 30,163 | Gross: $0.30M
34. Black Sheep (2006)
Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
Director: Jonathan King | Stars: Oliver Driver, Nathan Meister, Tammy Davis, Matthew Chamberlain
Votes: 42,109 | Gross: $0.08M
35. The Substitute (2007)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A group of sixth-graders is convinced their new substitute teacher is actually a menacing alien.
Director: Ole Bornedal | Stars: Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen, Jonas Wandschneider, Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok
Votes: 3,425
36. My Name Is Bruce (2007)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Mistaken for his character Ash from the 'Evil Dead' trilogy, Bruce Campbell is forced to fight a real monster in a small Oregon town.
Director: Bruce Campbell | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Grace Thorsen, Taylor Sharpe, Ted Raimi
Votes: 25,145 | Gross: $0.17M
37. Otis (2008)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
Suburban America gone haywire. In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen, Riley Lawson, goes missing. When her desperate parents, Will and Kate, are ... See full summary »
Director: Tony Krantz | Stars: Tarah Paige, Bostin Christopher, Ashley Johnson, Tracy Scoggins
Votes: 5,315
38. Zombieland (2009)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 621,734 | Gross: $75.59M
39. Rare Exports (2010)
R | 84 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 meters deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up. This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
Director: Jalmari Helander | Stars: Jorma Tommila, Onni Tommila, Peeter Jakobi, Tommi Korpela
Votes: 32,158 | Gross: $0.26M
40. Rubber (2010)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A homicidal car tire, discovering it has destructive psionic power, sets its sights on a desert town once a mysterious woman becomes its obsession.
Director: Quentin Dupieux | Stars: Stephen Spinella, Roxane Mesquida, Wings Hauser, Jack Plotnick
Votes: 40,342 | Gross: $0.10M
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