The 35 Best Horror Comedy Movies of the 21st Century, from ‘Zombieland’ to ‘Scream’ to ‘Freaky’ to ‘Fresh’

35. ‘M3gan’ (2023)

One of the rare January horror film releases to actually satisfy, ‘M3gan’ and its knowing camp made it catnip for horror fans upon its 2023 release. The primary target for the memes generated by the Blumhouse release was the titular doll-android itself, a Tiktok dancing, wildly silly looking menace that begins to take horrific measures to protect her young charge Cady (Violet McGraw). But Gerard Johnstone’s film really shines when it lets Allison Williams, playing Cady’s distant aunt turned reluctant mother figure, add some subtle, underplayed comedy to the equation, from her barely disguised disinterest in parenting to the deadpan way she navigates the increasingly absurd horrors. The film is due for a sequel soon, so here’s hoping it will be able to recapture the original’s blithe magic. —WC

34. ‘The Menu’ (2022)

Many eat-the-rich thrillers like ‘The Menu’ fail because they’re preaching to the choir: the rich we want to see fail are more cartoons than humans, and the class consciousness doesn’t extend much beyond an acknowledgment that class exists. Mark Mylod’s send-up of the fine dining world, where a group of wealthy assholes get served up a dinner from hell on an ultra-exclusive island restaurant, isn’t necessarily the deepest film ever made. What makes it great is how little that matters, as it instead uses its premise for a laugh-out-loud-funny but edge-of-your-seat comedic thriller sending up and parodying the fine dining world. Keeping everything hanging together is Ralph Fiennes, playing the head chef of the establishment where the noxious guests meet their end. He’s incredible, combining pathos with a biting, sarcastic disposition and a vicious temper that leads to some of the film’s cruelest and funniest jokes. —WC 

33. “Velvet Buzzsaw” (2019)

From the whip-smart auteur behind “Nightcrawler” comes another Los Angeles-set horror story. Dan Gilroy reunites with star Jake Gyllenhaal in “Velvet Buzzsaw”: a supernatural slasher anchored in the well-to-do contemporary art world. Gyllenhaal plays a pompous art critic in a cast that also boasts Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, and John Malkovich among others. Zawe Ashton plays an ambiitous young art dealer who stumbles across a series of eerie paintings when she finds the dead body of her artist neighbor. Her decision to steal and sell the pieces sets off a string of strange events no one can explain.

32. “Come to Daddy” (2019)

Elijah Wood stars in the nastily excellent “Come to Daddy,” horror producer Ant Timpson’s triumphant directorial debut.

With more twists and turns than an “I Know What You Did Last Summer” turnpike, the laugh-out-loud funny horror comedy seems at first like the story of a young man (Wood) reconnecting with his estranged father (Stephen McHattie). Thanks to a jaw-dropping script from Toby Harvard, it soon blooms into a vibrant hellscape of unforeseen enemies that’s well worth enjoying unspoiled.

31. “Villains” (2019)

Bonnie and Clyde stand-ins Jules (Maika Monroe) and Mickey (Bill Skarsgård) get more than they bargained for when an attempted burglary leads them to find a young girl (Blake Baumgartner) chained up in an overly cheery couple’s basement. The inspired casting of Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan as horror-show homeowners Gloria and George elevates writer-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s double date story from believably bad to campy levels of strange and cruel. From Gloria’s increasingly touchy fascination with Mickey to George’s cryptically gentile treatment of Jules, “Villians” is chock-full of bizarre suburban terror that keeps you guessing til the bitter end.

30. “The Voices” (2014)

Ryan Reynolds plays a lonely warehouse worker in “The Voices,” a colorful, spectacle-laden exploration of violent hallucinations and a murderer’s guilt.

Directed by Marjane Satrapi and written by Michael R. Perry, the 2014 flick is most memorable for its hysterical use of a talking dog and cat: angel and devil stand-ins for the anti-hero’s conflicting sense of morality. Fittingly, the pets are also voiced by Reynolds.

Anna Kendrick plays the main character’s blissfully unaware love interest, alongside Jacki Weaver as his increasingly concerned therapist.

29. “Fresh” (2022)

Daisy Edgar-Jones, known for the hyper-romantic “Normal People,” and Sebastian Stan, nominated for an Emmy thanks to “Pam & Tommy,” team up with Hulu again to star in director Mimi Cave’s debut film “Fresh.”

Written by Lauryn Kahn, the genre-bending thriller adventures through the terrors of modern dating to reach a far more dastardly destination. After the disillusioned Noa meets the charming Steve in a grocery store, the two decide to enjoy a weekend away. What awaits isn’t for the faint of heart.

28. “Bubba Ho-Tep” (2003)

Scream king Bruce Campbell delivers a surprisingly sweet performance as a still-living Elvis Presley in writer-director Don Coscarelli’s “Bubba Ho-Tep.” After the famed rock n’ roller swaps places with an impersonator for some much needed R&R — then the impersonator dies and a fire prevents the real Elvis from proving he’s, well, Elvis — Presley lives out his days in a Texas retirement facility under the name Sebastian Haff. It’s not until he, along with a fellow resident who believes himself to be the late John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis), are forced to face off with a powerful mummy that our hunka burnin’ hero seriously looks back on his tortured legacy. 

27. “Zombieland” (2009)

Before “The Walking Dead” hit 2010 TV lovers with its infamous “Don’t Dead Open Inside” pilot — effectively kicking off pop culture’s more-than-decade-long obsession with extended explorations of humans surviving undead society — “Zombieland” was conquering the post-apocalyptic landscape with its own, far spunkier tale of found family.

When a hoody-wearing college kid (Jesse Eisenberg) meets a snack food-obsessed cowboy-type (Woody Harrelson), an eyeliner-loving rebel (Emma Stone), and that rebel’s devilishly smart little sister (Abigail Breslin), they must come together to survive the end of the world. Rule number one: Cardio.

26. The “Fear Street” Trilogy (2021)

Co-written with Phil Graziadei and Zak Olkewicz, Leigh Janiak’s “Fear Street” trilogy brings just the right amount of fear and fun . When a masked killer stalks a group of friends around the town of Shadyside on Halloween night 1994, their fight to survive reveals a decades-old conspiracy that dates all the way back to the mid-17th century. Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Maya Hawke, and more appear in this trio of films that aren’t consistently funny, but boast enough light-hearted fare and get in enough zingers to qualify for inclusion on a best horror-comedy list.

25. “Freaky” (2020)

The body-swap comedy gets a murderous upgrade in “Freaky,” starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton as a serial killer and mousy teen girl who accidentally switch bodies. Known best for “Happy Death Day,” director Christopher Landon brings his signature smarts to the simple premise, pulling thoroughly modern threads that help the standard fare feel fresh. (Plus, you have to give it up for the red leather jacket. Seriously, the red leather jacket rocks.) 

24. “This is the End” (2013)

Writer-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg pulled off something of a cameo-laden miracle with “This Is the End,” a 2013 apocalypse movie imagining then-contemporary Hollywood contending with Armageddon.

There’s plenty that feels familiar to the duo’s past work; see the exceptionally relatable suggestion that, in the face of fear, it’d be best for them to “do all the drugs.” But what makes “This Is the End” truly awesome is its once-in-a-lifetime cast: a revolving door of visiting celebrities that includes Michael Cera, Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, Channing Tatum, Emma Watson, and even Rihanna. (“Don’t fucking touch my bum, bitch.”)

23. “Barbarian” (2022)

Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” is terrifying. And though the majority of this labyrinthian nightmare is far from funny — the first act is nothing short of a nerve-wracking assault on the senses (definitely worth seeing in a theater, by the way!) — there’s no denying this hellish abduction caper knows how to deliver a laugh. Justin Long arrives part-way through in a role reminiscent of his podcaster part for Kevin Smith’s “Tusk,” ratched up in an irredeemable #MeToo arc that doubles as a vehicle for pitch-black comedy, perfectly complimentary to the movie’s jaw-dropping main event. 

22. “Scream” (2022)

More than any other franchise on this list, “Scream” has packed the 21st century with horror comedy sequels worth celebrating.

So, with the full knowledge that recency bias may be at play here, we’re choosing “Scream” (2022) — also known as “Scream 5” — as the crowning jewel in a string of strong follow-up installments. (We’d choose “Scream” itself, but everyone knows that’s a 20th-century gem.) Love it or hate it, the film’s lambasting of “elevated horror” definitely resonates.

Jenna Ortega shines especially bright in a Casey Becker-type role, opening the film with a claustrophobic home invasion sequence that’s evocative of the original without feeling copied. Melissa Barrera fares equally well as the main protagonist, with return engagements from Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette to boot. 

21. “The Final Girls” (2015)

“Friday the 13th” meets “Pleasantville” in “The Final Girls,” an ’80s slasher sendup that sees the daughter of a late scream queen transported into her mom’s biggest movie.

Well received but arguably still ahead of its time, director Todd Strauss-Schulson’s 2015 flick is an under-appreciated gem that makes as much of a meal out of the movie-making format as it does the occasionally clichéd content of horror movies. Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman lead as the mother-daughter duo. Nina Dobrev, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, and more also star.

20. “Housebound” (2014)

Writer-director Gerard Johnstone tackles a hilarious premise in his 2014 horror comedy: What do you do when you’re under haunted house arrest?

After the reckless Kylie (Morgana O’Reilly) attempts to steal from an ATM, she’s sentenced to eight months living with her mother (Rima Te Wiata). That tense dynamic gets only more fraught when Kylie begins experiencing supernatural phenomena possibly linked to a grisly murder.

19. “Teeth” (2007)

Writer-director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s “Teeth” is undoubtedly funnier to some audiences than others. And yet, no matter your genitalia-centric comedy tastes, there is something objectively funny about the straightforwardness of a horror protagonist battling with her own razor-sharp labia.

Jess Weixler is unapologetically great as Dawn: a god-fearing leader in a Christian abstinence group who uncovers she has a strange condition called “vagina dentata.” (Fair warning: “Teeth” explores a lot of campy territory but also includes grounded depictions of assault that can be jarring given the goofy premise.)

18. “The Love Witch” (2016)

Samantha Robinson channels Bettie Paige, Barbara Steele, and just a touch of Elvira in writer-director Anna Biller’s hyper-femme revenge fantasy about a romance-obsessed sorceress out to find a new apple of her eye in an unsuspecting town. Flush with luxury ’60s style references and boasting timeless witchy appeal, “The Love Witch” casts its spell in two parts: luring audiences in with an earnest homage to soapy bygone cinema then cheekily upending those tropes to deliver a compelling arc that’s more contemporary in spirit.

There’s plenty about this transporting title that could be classified as more dramatic — possibly even tragic — than comedic, but with the campy Elaine spouting off over-the-top sexist platitudes (see “According to the experts, men are very fragile….” and “Giving men sex is a way of unlocking their love potential!”) there’s no use taking “The Love Witch” too seriously.

17. “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022)

Exuding an effortless online comedy style, director Halina Reijn’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies” sharpens the typical bullshit you’d see on Twitter into a fearsome spearhead for one of the funniest whodunits ever made.

Written by Sarah DeLappe, the very 2022 slasher introduces a tumultuous friend group (Amandla Stenberg, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Conner O’Malley, Pete Davidson) and their seemingly caught-in-the-middle plus ones (Lee Pace, Maria Bakalova) during a party weekend set against a dangerous hurricane.

16. “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” (2005)

Born of the same scary underbelly as the vicious Belgian mockumentary “Man Bites Dog,” Scott Glosserman’s “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” imagines a world where all your favorite slasher villains are real: Michael Meyers, Jason Voorhees, you name it.

In the sleepy-town of Glen Echo, a new killer is emerging: Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel). The titular killer invites along a journalism student (Angela Goethals) to chronicle his surprisingly entertaining attempt at infamy. Where will she draw the line between observation and accessory? 

15. “Trick ‘r Treat” (2007)

A surprisingly sweet homage to the spooky spirit of Halloween, “Trick ‘r Treat” is an anthology film from writer-director Michael Doughtery.

The 2007 movie is great for countless reasons: Not only does it feature performances from Anna Paquin and Brian Cox, but the closest thing you’d call a main character — Sam, a silent burlap sack-wearing being with a marked protectiveness over his favorite holiday — has risen to adorable icon status among genre fans. If there’s one horror comedy worth watching on All Hallows’ Eve, it’s this one.

14. “One Cut of the Dead” (2017)

A zombie movie collides with actual zombies in “One Cut of the Dead” (also known as “Kamera o Tomeru na!” or “Don’t Stop the Camera!”) Writer-director Shin’ichirō Ueda brings fierce, one-of-a-kind fun to the story of an ambitious filmmaker whose underwhelming project gets spiced up by an undead plague… sort of. “One Cut of the Dead” is mandatory viewing for fans of meta mise en scene that pumps fresh blood into not just the zombie category, but the found footage subgenre as a concept.

13. “Shaun of the Dead” (2004)

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright outright nailed the zombie comedy (zombedy?) with “Shaun of the Dead,” an ambling survival saga centered on Shaun: a depressed salesman whose unlucky lot in life gets flipped upside down by a viral outbreak.

As you’d expect, Pegg is killer in the main role, bringing lovable sweetness to the gritty world his character inhabits. That’s in large part thanks to co-star Nick Frost, whose collaborations with Pegg would continue across “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End”: the other two films in Wright’s “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy.

12. “Happy Death Day” (2017)

“Groundhog Day” meets people screaming the “Happy Birthday” song at you in the maddening and hilariously repetitive “Happy Death Day,” directed by Christopher Landon and written by Scott Lobdell.

It looks like the end of the line for hard-partying sorority girl Tree (Jessica Rothe) when a masked murderer, dressed as her school’s creepy mascot, stabs her to death on the night of her birthday. But when she wakes up in some guy’s (Israel Broussard) bed — inexplicably for the second time — a confusing time-loop whodunnit begins. The movie got a surprisingly great sequel in 2019, titled “Happy Death Day 2U.”

11. “Ready or Not” (2019)

Meeting the in-laws has never gone so poorly.

Samara Weaving stars as a blushing bride suddenly fighting for her life in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s “Ready or Not,” a pitch-perfect remix of the mysterious dinner party trope that sees a game of hide-and-seek enter “Most Dangerous Game” territory fast. Mark O’Brien plays the hapless groom, with Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, and more making up the rest of the not-exactly-happy family.

10. “Slither” (2006)

James Gunn’s “Slither” is genuinely gross, boasting the most gut-churning scenes of any of the movies on this list. That said, if you can stomach the slipperiness, “Slither” is also one of the smartest Gunn titles to date: a mutant marriage of his goofy live-action “Scooby-Doo” sensibilities with the ruthlessness he’d cultivate in “The Suicide Squad” that top-to-bottom works.

Michael Rooker and Elizabeth Banks lead as a man infected by an alien parasite and his suddenly tough-as-nails wife who must fight for survival alongside the rest of her South Carolina town. Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry, Jenna Fischer, and more also appear.

9. “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012)

Drew Goddard makes his directorial debut with the unforgettable pop-up book that is “The Cabin in the Woods.” Starring Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, and Anna Hutchison, this mostly sexy zombie slasher kicks off with five college kids settling in for a fun wilderness weekend. But when two snarky technicians from a mysterious facility (a perfectly cast Bradley Whitford and characteristically excellent Richard Jenkins) offer the group as bait in an ancient ritual, an epic battle begins.

8. “Scary Movie” (2000)

Fun fact: Wes Craven’s “Scream” was originally written with the title “Scary Movie” in mind. Thankfully, that franchise went with something else, and the Wayans brothers were free to build their aughts horror comedy empire.

The original “Scary Movie” kicked of five films’ worth of fun, spoofing, yes, “Scream” but also the likes of “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “The Matrix,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Dave Sheridan, Marlon Wayans, and more also star in a shock comedy that’s aged well enough (if not gracefully). 

7. “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” (2010)

Tucker and Dale are having a tough day.

Directed by Eli Craig, from a script co-written with Morgan Jurgenson, “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil” sends up your standard hicksploitation tropes with a twist. When two well-meaning country guys (Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine) save a vacationing psych student (Katrina Bowden) from drowning in a West Virginia river, her friends assume she’s been kidnapped and decide to go after “her captors.”

6. ‘The Substance’ (2024)

A blunt force object of a film, Coralie Fargeat’s ‘The Substance’ is one of the least subtle movies ever made, proudly leaving everything hanging out in its send-up of the entertainment industry, misogyny, beauty standards, and addictions. That complete lack of anything resembling nuance means ‘The Substance’ isn’t the scariest film ever made, though the tale of Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) and the younger woman (Margarey Qualley) she shares her body with goes to unimaginably gory, gross-out places. It does mean that it’s incredibly funny, introducing the audience to an absurdist and knowingly stupid Los Angeles where the height of fame is hosting a Jane Fonda-esque aerobics TV show, showgirls bare T&A on a network New Year’s Eve show, and everything feels both modern and inflected with an ’80s sheen. While the two main actors are moving in their roles, everyone else — particularly Dennis Quaid as a campy TV executive — hams it up to overdrive, which perfectly fits with the ridiculous, laugh-out-louds lengths the film eventually goes to. When the blood finally spills at the film’s climax, you’ll laugh as much as you’ll retch. —WC 

5. ‘Beau Is Afraid’ (2023)

Ari Aster’s first two films ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’ contained plenty of laughs, even if most of it was awkwardness out of the sheer horror of the tragedies those nightmares depicted. His third film, ‘Beau Is Afraid,’ is something different altogether; a mammoth-length tragicomic epic that’s surreally horrifying without ever quite fitting into any genre. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as an emotionally stunted man ruled by paranoia, it’s a mesmerizingly weird odyssey from start to finish, containing horrific scenes of violence one second and exquisitely dark comedy the next. Beau’s quest to get to his mom’s funeral the first time around is plenty horrifying and funny, but both factors only ramp up when he reaches his destination; a sex scene between Phoenix and Posey encapsulates the film’s singular tone perfectly, starting out with sublime cringe comedy before ending on one of the more horrifying film images of the last decade. ‘Beau Is Afraid’ is a tricky nut to crack, but its surreal vision of the world seems to offer some sort of truth that one only has the power to laugh in the face of horror and helplessness. —WC 

4. “Get Out” (2017)

Yes, Jordan Peele’s triumphant “Get Out” is a horror comedy. It’s also a searing sociopolitical commentary with elements so terrifying that just calling it a horror comedy would be a laughable understatement.

“It’s not a movie that can really be put into a genre box,” Peele argued following its classification as an outright comedy at the Golden Globes.

However you define it, the Best Original Screenplay Oscar winner is a masterpiece, and Lil Rel Howery’s performance as Rod “Motherfuckin’ TSA” Williams is one of the funniest horror performances ever.

3. “Jennifer’s Body” (2009)

At the peak of her “Transformers” fame, Megan Fox starred in a little ol’ demonic possession flick called “Jennifer’s Body.” Directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody, the 2009 feminist fright fest was horrifically misunderstood upon release, with male audiences angry that it didn’t subvert the genre tropes they were interested in seeing subverted.

But hidden just beneath the surface was a heart-stopping revenge flick with plenty to say about patriarchy and power. It’s since become something of a cult classic among women and nonbinary horror fans, with particular attention paid to its brilliant queer and bisexual representation.

2. “American Psycho” (2000)

Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel remains one of the more terrifying titles you’ll find on shelves, spinning a gut-wrenching tale of an ’80s New York City banker-turned-sadistic killer of women. Christian Bale acted the ever-living hell out of that premise in Mary Harron’s hard-to-stomach but still decidedly satirical “American Psycho” adaption. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Reese Witherspoon, Matt Ross, Justin Theroux, Cara Seymour, Chloë Sevigny, and more also appear in this nightmare with an unreliable narrator.

1. “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014)

Before Jemaine Clement spun “What We Do in the Shadows” into one of TV’s most enchanting vampire series, the Sundance mockumentary told its own tale of blood-sucking flatmates battling life’s everyday annoyances.

Written and directed by Clement and Taika Waititi, the 2014 horror comedy left audiences howling with laughter thanks to classic lines like “Werewolves not swear-wolves!” and “Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!” The former “Flight of the Conchords” collaborators also star, with Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Rhys Darby, and Jackie van Beek.