Funny Terror: 6 Criminally Underseen Horror-Comedies

I believe it takes a well-developed sense of humor to be a horror fan. After all, none of us would be able to sleep if we actually thought that Freddy Krueger could show up in our dreams at night – and yet we always play along when the time comes to enjoy spooky stories about supernatural killers and mutated monsters.

That’s why the rise of horror comedies was all but inevitable, as most horror hounds were already willing to laugh alongside their favorite filmmakers instead of at them. That being said, some of these humorous scares are more popular than others, and today we’d like to shine a light on six criminally underseen horror-comedies that deserve a second chance at success!

As usual, this list is based on personal opinion, but don’t forget to comment below with your own underrated favorites if you think we missed a particularly fun horror comedy that doesn’t get the love it deserves.

With that out of the way, onto the list…

6. Grabbers (2012)

After the massive success of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, the horror genre was inundated with a whole slew of rules-based monster movies where our protagonists had to refrain from some sort of activity in order to survive. Jon Wright’s Grabbers may have preceded this movement by several years, but I’d still argue that this Irish creature-feature is somehow one of the best examples of it.

More than a little inspired by Tremors, Grabbers follows the residents of a small island community who find themselves under siege by man-eating aliens. The invaders’ only weakness appears to be an extreme aversion to alcohol, meaning that our heroes must avoid sobriety in order to survive! What follows is one of the zaniest flicks on this list, and one that’s worth tracking down if you still haven’t seen it.

5. Little Monsters (2019)

Zom-Coms have become so prolific that they’re basically a sub-genre in and of themselves at this point. That’s why it takes a particularly charming feature to stand out among the countless Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland wannabes that populate most streaming sites. Thankfully, Abe Forsythe’s Little Monsters is precisely that, following a down-on-his-luck musician who develops feelings for his nephew’s kindergarten teacher and volunteers to chaperone on a field trip. Unfortunately, the trip coincides with a zombie outbreak, leading to a hilarious scramble for survival as the adults attempt to convince the children that everything is fine.

Benefiting from genuinely touching moments and a lovable performance by Lupita Nyong’o, Little Monsters is a must-see even if you’re burned out on zombie comedies. The only downside is that you’ll likely walk out of the experience with either Sweet Caroline or Shake It Off stuck in your head for the foreseeable future.

4. Detention (2011)

Josh Hutcherson needs to be in more horror flicks. However, while I routinely defend the Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation as a surprisingly fun B-movie, 2011’s Detention remains the actor’s best genre work, taking audiences on a chaotic thrill ride involving time travel, serial killers and the horrors of adolescence.

While the film has developed something of a cult following over the years, it’s still nowhere near as popular as it deserves to be (likely because it was released years before the streaming boom that gave similar features a chance at success). That’s why Detention earns a place on this list, as I’d like to live in a world where lines like “Just because you’re a bitch it doesn’t give you dog years,” are commonly quoted by genre fans.

3. Black Sheep (2006)

From Dead-Alive to What We Do in the Shadows, New Zealand has a history of providing horror fans with some of the funniest subversions of genre tropes ever put to screen. And while Black Sheep isn’t as popular as these aforementioned examples, it’s no less entertaining.

Following an outbreak of carnivorous sheep created by genetic tampering, this surprisingly vicious take on infection horror will have you laughing and recoiling in terror in equal measure – which is why I still have my fingers crossed for a sequel nearly two decades later.

2. Murder Party (2007)

Director Jeremy Saulnier is mostly known for hyper-serious thrillers like Green Room and Rebel Ridge, but this modern-day master of suspense actually began his career with a satirical horror comedy about a Halloween Party gone terribly wrong. Produced on a shoestring budget, Murder Party stars Saulnier’s childhood friend and fellow filmmaker Macon Blair as a loner who gets himself kidnapped by murderous art students.

From its plethora of loving homages to genre cinema (the characters’ creative costumes are definitely a highlight) to the genuinely freaky moments where Blair agonizes over his inevitable fate at the hands of these radical artists, there’s a lot to love about Murder Party if you can stomach its low production value and some iffy pacing.

1. I Sell the Dead (2008)

The (mostly) obsolete profession of graverobbing is criminally underexplored in the world of horror. Glenn McQuaid’s charming I Sell the Dead remains one of few exceptions, starring Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden as a mismatched duo of corpse salesmen who accidentally discover a more bizarre -not to mention lucrative- side to their line of work.

Stylish, hilarious and more than a little disgusting, McQuaid’s debut feature may not have seen much box office action outside of the festival circuit – and it released way too soon to become a streaming hit – but there’s a reason why this movie has steadily been finding more fans online as more folks connect with its unique brand of gallows humor.

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