Is it just me, or is choosing a movie that everyone in your group wants to watch literally impossible? As soon as someone asks, "So what should we stream tonight?" it's a full-fledged debate that lasts so long that eventually, everyone just decides to scroll Instagram in peace. Half your crew always lobbies for a rom-com from the early aughts, and that one friend insists on one of the scariest horror movies of all time (I am that one friend). You, being the most easygoing person on the planet, just want everyone to be happy, which is why I'm here to tell you about the crowd-pleaser of all crowd-pleasers: horror comedy movies. Or is it comedy horror?
Yep, a movie that makes you laugh one minute and scream the next checks most, if not all, of the boxes for movie night. Films in this genre typically cover a broad range of emotions—from happiness to terror, with plenty of laughs in between. You get some gore, smartly subverted clichés, and, if I'm honest, sometimes just so-so acting chops. It's all part of the charm, my friend! So, next time you're struggling to decide on a movie for the crew, consider one of the horror-comedy movies on this list. Binge-watching The Golden Bachelor can wait!
Totally Killer
Back to the Future meets '80s slasher movie when an infamous killer returns on Halloween night to claim another victim. But when 17-year-old Jamie comes face-to-face with the masked maniac, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987, forced to navigate an unfamiliar culture and team up with her teenage mother to take down the psycho once and for all.
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Beau Is Afraid
Ari Aster's horror comedy masterpiece starring Joaquin Phoenix, Beau Is Afraid, is a twisting adventure that is truly impossible to synopsize here, so just stream it and thank us later.
The Blackening
This 2023 horror follows a group of friends whose Juneteenth weekend away turns deadly when they find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer. The Blackening is an uber-sharp satirical horror and a must watch.
Renfield
The latest iteration of Dracula lore, Renfield stars Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as Renfield, assistant to the Prince of Darkness. The film also features some familiar funny faces including Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz.
Cocaine Bear
Believe it or not, Cocaine Bear is based on a true story. This 2023 film follows the chaos that ensues after a 500-pound black bear consumes a large amount of cocaine, like 75 pounds of it.
M3GAN
The best horror comedy of 2023, M3GAN stars Allison Williams as a roboticist who creates a robot meant to be a child's greatest companion. Naturally, it turns into a machines versus human type of situation. An unexpected hit, M3GAN pulled massive audiences upon its release and even secured a sequel, set for 2025.
Scream VI
The latest film in the Scream franchise, Scream VI stars Jenna Ortega and follows four survivors of the Ghostface murders who flee to New York City for a fresh start. You can guess how that goes.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
This horror-satire comes from A24 and it follows a group of rich 20-somethings who come together to party at a remote mansion, and surprise! The party is killer. The film stars a coven of Gen-Z idols, including Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott, Chase Sui Wonders, and Pete Davidson.
Fresh
Starring one of the internet’s boyfriends, Sebastian Stan, and Where The Crawdads Sing’s Daisy Edgar Jones, Fresh is a black comedy new to Hulu. A true modern horror, it follows a young woman in the online dating world who, after meeting a charismatic man on an app, finds herself in dire straits.
Barbarian
Barbarian, or as we like to call it “American Horror Story: Short Term Rental,” is a horror film that follows a young woman who arrives at her Airbnb, only to find it already occupied by an unexpected stranger.
Pearl
The new prequel to A24’s X, which came out earlier this year, Pearl stars Mia Goth (who also co-wrote the film) as a young Texan with dreams of making it big in Hollywood. Though it sounds sweet, it quickly becomes bloody. Lucky for horror fans, Pearl is not the end of this story, a third consequent film titled MaXXXine is currently in production.
Come to Daddy
Elijah Wood stars in his comedy/horror as a man traveling to a remote cabin to reconnect with his father. Come to Daddy is the definitive “daddy issues” slasher film, if you've been looking for that.
Freaky
In this horror comedy, Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) swap bodies à la Freaky Friday, but instead of a mother-daughter swap, it's a serial killer-high schooler swap.
American Psycho
The seminal horror satire, American Psycho stars Christian Bale as a New York City finance bro who spends his days trading stocks and his nights murdering people.
Fright Night (1985)
Full of cheesy suspense and expertly-timed jump scares, this cult-classic supernatural film follows Charley Brewster, a horror-obsessed kid who finds out his neighbor is a vampire responsible for disappearances all over town. It blends humor and horror expertly, taking the time-honored vampire trope to new heights. And it has a 92 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 😉
Fright Night (2011)
Rarely is the remake of such a classic movie ever any good, but in this case, we were pleasantly surprised. The latest rendition of this OG vampire film is unexpectedly thrilling, and is stacked with talent including the late Anton Yelchin, David Tennent, Imogen Poots, and Colin Farrell.
Cabin Fever
Yes, it’s a plague movie about a hunter who accidentally shoots a man with a skin infection and runs away, but Cabin Fever is chock-full of chaotic plot lines that see everyone around him suddenly infected with the disease he could’ve helped contain. Written and directed by Eli Roth, this film is a horror, a comedy, and a cautionary tale all at once. And what’s great is that it doesn’t feel so realistic that you’ll think you’re watching current events.
Goosebumps
If the trailer starts with someone driving furiously, you know it's going to be good. This dark horror comedy with Dylan Minette and Jack Black, based (obviously) on the R. L. Stine's children's horror book series of the same name, is about townies that try to defeat the monsters that suddenly descend on their homes. There are monsters, romance, suspense, Jack Black, and lots of laughs. What more could you ask for?
The Final Girls
Imagine your mom was an '80s scream queen. Then suddenly, you find yourself in the world of one of her horror films. Do you have what it takes (ahem, *common sense*) to make it out alive?
The Babysitter
A young boy is in love with his hot babysitter (unheard of, I know). But she belongs to a satanic cult and wants to kill him ("blood of the innocent" and all that), so he has to outsmart her crew and escape. Dramatique.
Life After Beth
Zach's girlfriend Beth (played by Aubrey Plaza, so prepare for dead-pan at its finest) comes back from the dead but doesn't realize she's actually a zombie. Zom-rom-coms, ever heard of 'em?
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
This movie is an OG in the comedy horror department. It got an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes which is pretty impressive for any film, let alone a buddy comedy (yeah, this one is def more LOLs than scares) starring two hillbillies.
Ready or Not
Taking the familiar concept of nightmare in-laws to a whole new level, Samara has to outwit her new husband's deranged family as part of their truly evil wedding night tradition.
Teeth
A high school girl committed to chastity discovers something shocking about her body. Look up the very real vagina dentata myth before you watch.
Happy Death Day
Happy Death Day is a murder-y twist on Bill Murray's classic Groundhog Day: a college girl keeps re-living the day she gets killed by a person wearing a creepy babydoll mask.
A Haunted House
This spoof on the homemade, handheld-recorder Paranormal Activity-esque type of movie is more goofy than spooky but you'll still cry from laughing so hard.
This Is the End
Seth Rogen: "Yo Franco, we should make a movie about the apocalypse in Hollywood and have all our famous comedian friends in it." James Franco: "Dope idea, man. Let's get Rihanna too 'cause it's Rihanna." And that's how This Is the End came to be.
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice invented funny-scary, and that is not up for debate. Also, young Alec Baldwin is the ghost hottie of all our dreams/nightmares. That is all.
Scream
A campy cult classic, this iconic slasher has inspired tons of comedy horror films in the years since its release. It’s packed with so many scary-movie tropes that you could notice something new each time you watch. (Like, did ya catch the Nightmare on Elm Street music in the beginning of the trailer?)
Jennifer’s Body
Jennifer (Megan Fox) is a high school cheerleader/hottie who gets possessed by a demon and starts to kill all the boys who never had a chance with her before. I know that doesn’t sound very funny...but it is! Amanda Seyfried co-stars, by the way.
Scary Movie
Plot spoiler: Scary Movie is not ACTUALLY a scary movie. It’s a parody of scary movies. (Like Scream.) The spookiest thing about this series is that there are five (5!) of these movies.
Zombieland
If you’re ever in a bad mood, just think about the fact that we live in a world where Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Bill Murray appeared in a zombie movie together and the plot's about a guy trying to track down the last Twinkie in America.
Meet the Blacks
A Black family moves into a Beverly Hills neighborhood on the "most dangerous night of the year." Shortly after meeting new neighbors, the Blacks learn from The President (George Lopez) that it's time for the annual purge; any crime is legal for 12 hours. Carl Black (Mike Epps) must protect his family and new home at all costs as not-so-friendly neighbors try to send them packing (or, you know, try to kill them). Gary Owen, the late Charlie Murphy, Mike Tyson and Michael Blackson all star alongside Mike Epps in this hilarious purge parody.
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is the comedy horror film that will make you think twice before saying you feel like “such a zombie” when you need another coffee around 3 p.m.
What We Do in the Shadows
If you feel that The Twilight Saga falsely glamorizes vampires, then you should watch What We Do in the Shadows, a (fake) documentary about three blood-sucking roommates who live a surprisingly normal life together.
The Cabin in the Woods
There is actually a lot of debate around what genre to label The Cabin in the Woods. It’s definitely scary...but it’s also pretty funny and considered a deconstruction of the horror genre. Either way, Chris Hemsworth is in it, so it’s worth a watch.
Velvet Buzzsaw
This bloody Netflix film is one part ghost murder spree, two parts vicious satire of the vapid art world, featuring a sometimes naked Jake Gyllenhaal. When a dead madman’s scribblings are stolen from his apartment and sold as high art, his spirit gets revenge on...everyone? Someone gets their arm hacked off by a sculpture, so that’s the kind of movie you’re dealing with.
Vampire in Brooklyn
One of Eddie Murphy's finest comedic works, this 1995 film follows Maximillian, a Caribbean vampire who is also the last vampire in the world, and his first encounter with New York's Brooklyn borough. An unlikely love story unfolds between him and Angela Bassett's character who is a police officer, among a slew of other shenanigans. Come for old New York, stay for Eddie Murphy playing three different characters.
The Haunted Mansion
Another Eddie Murphy classic, this movie follows a realtor couple and their two kids who are supposed to be going on a family vacation. Along the way, the family ends up checking out a super old mansion under the guise of potentially selling it, only to find a host of cursed, ghostly characters inhabiting the place.
Gremlins
Gremlins is for sure the cutest pick on this list. You know the story: A teen boy is given an adorable lil alien creature as a gift, as long as he can follow three simple rules—no bright lights, don’t get him wet, and never, ever feed him after midnight. You can guess how well that goes.
Courtney Young is a freelance writer covering all things entertainment and pop culture, having previously written for Betches, Mic, and The Cut. Her Real Housewives locale of choice is New Jersey, her emotional support show is Girls, and her toxic trait is romanticizing mafia culture. You can follow her on Instagram @courtneyyoungg.
Chaise Sanders is an Associate Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers anything from lifestyle and beauty to entertainment and style. Wanna upgrade your skincare game? She's got you covered with the best facial cleansing brushes. Or maybe you're in need of a new true crime show to binge? Got that covered too! Prior to joining the Cosmo team, Chaise was an editor at Country Living (also part of the Hearst fam) where she interviewed celebs like Dolly Parton, LeAnn Rimes and even Martha Stewart. Now, as one of the Big Apple's newest residents, there's a good chance that you can catch her checking out an Insta-worthy cafe or spending way to much $$$ in vintage stores.
