The 10 Best 1990s Horror Comedies, Ranked (#2 Almost Got A Brutal Remake)

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The 1980s were a golden age for movies that skillfully mixed horror and comedy, with films like Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, Night of the Creeps, Return of the Living Dead, Creepshow, Re-Animator, Gremlins, and Evil Dead 2 all being hugely successful. The 1990s also offered some great examples of this blend. Here are ten of the best films that managed to be both funny and scary, eliciting laughter, gasps, and everything in between. To make the list, however, each movie had to be officially categorized as a comedy.

This means Scream didn’t make the cut. While it has funny parts, it’s primarily a horror film with humor sprinkled in – much of it thanks to Matthew Lillard, who Quentin Tarantino recently criticized unfairly.

10) Lake Placid

Steve Miner is most famous for directing the second and third Friday the 13th movies, and he also helped produce the first one. He’s had a more successful career than any other director who started with that franchise. While he hasn’t made any critically acclaimed films, he’s directed several enjoyable, crowd-pleasing movies like Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Forever Young, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, Warlock, and House.

Don’t forget to add Lake Placid to the list of fun monster movies! While it doesn’t have quite enough scary moments to be truly tense, it’s surprisingly funny. The humor doesn’t come from Oliver Platt’s annoying character, but from Betty White’s fantastic performance as Mrs. Delores Bickerman, who continues to feed the alligator cows even after it ate her husband! Her sarcastic comments to the police are hilarious. Lake Placid is best enjoyed for what it is, just like Anaconda – and then you should definitely avoid its sequels at all costs.

9) Idle Hands

Following the success of Scream, a lot of horror movies aimed at teenagers were quickly released, including films like Valentine, Halloween H20, and Urban Legend. While some tried to blend horror with comedy, Idle Hands flips that formula – it’s mostly a comedy with just a bit of horror. You could think of it as Oliver Stone’s The Hand if that film had been funny (or actually worked as a movie).

This movie is a goofy and entertaining horror-comedy with a talented cast, especially Elden Henson and Devon Sawa, who delivers a great physical performance. While not every joke hits, it’s clear the filmmakers had a blast making it, and that energy makes it extra enjoyable to watch. It also features a really good alternative rock soundtrack.

8) Army of Darkness

While Army of Darkness isn’t quite as strong as The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 (though many fans would disagree, and it’s easy to see why), it’s still full of the same quirky, over-the-top humor that made the second film so memorable.

Bruce Campbell effortlessly delivers impressive physical comedy, making even the most outlandish scenes look easy. He’s intentionally goofy, but in a way that’s charming rather than irritating. While the final battle with skeletons and medieval soldiers doesn’t fully succeed, the movie still showcases moments of the same brilliance as Evil Dead 2. Plus, it has arguably the best movie poster of anything on this list.

7) Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Many consider Tales from the Darkside: The Movie to be a spiritual successor to Creepshow 3. After the success of George A. Romero’s Creepshow, he created Tales from the Darkside, which eventually led to this film. Just like the Creepshow movies, it also features a segment adapted from a story by Stephen King, solidifying the connection between them.

Considering it alongside similar films, this movie isn’t quite as good as Creepshow, but it’s definitely better than Creepshow 2. It looks great, and the three stories become more and more engaging—the last one, “Lover’s Vow,” is surprisingly touching. The movie flows well and is a really enjoyable anthology that’s gained a following over the years.

6) Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Similar to many films on this list, Gremlins 2: The New Batch didn’t do well in theaters. It actually did so poorly that it stopped any plans for future Gremlins movies for more than thirty years.

Over time, this movie has really held up. It’s the quintessential Looney Tunes cartoon made real, even with films like Space Jam and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (also directed by Joe Dante) existing. A Key & Peele sketch imagining the writing process for Gremlins 2 perfectly captures how this movie was made – if a gag was wild, they put it in.

5) Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight

The early success of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt led to two movies. While one was well-received, the other wasn’t. Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight was the successful film. Bordello of Blood, however, isn’t worth watching, even for dedicated fans of the series.

Demon Knight works so well for a few key reasons. First, the story mostly takes place in a creepy, atmospheric inn that feels genuinely haunted, especially once demons start appearing. Second, the actors – like William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, and CCH Pounder – really get the tone and spirit of the film. But most importantly, Billy Zane delivers a fantastic performance as the villain, The Collector. It’s arguably his best role, and one of the most joyfully wicked performances in horror-comedy. You can tell he loved playing the part, and that energy really comes across on screen.

Stream Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight on Starz.

4) Bride of Chucky

Following Child’s Play 3, the Child’s Play series felt like it needed a fresh direction. Luckily, Don Mancini, the driving force behind the films, delivered a script that both developed Chucky’s character and highlighted his unchanging nature.

What makes Bride of Chucky so successful is that it delivers both classic Chucky thrills and a surprisingly funny, over-the-top road trip story about two killer dolls finding love. Brad Dourif’s consistently great performance, combined with the perfect casting of Jennifer Tilly, creates a fantastic balance. The film expertly walks the line between scary and humorous, avoiding being too frightening to be funny or too silly to be frightening. Sadly, the next film, Seed of Chucky, didn’t maintain this delicate balance, leading to yet another major shift in the franchise’s direction.

3) The People Under the Stairs

Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs was a commercial success in the early 1990s. It still resonates with viewers today because of its unique and insightful look at gentrification—a topic it tackled remarkably early on. Despite this, the film doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves.

The movie expertly mixes horror and comedy, a style more common in 1980s films. Once the three burglars – including a child – enter the main setting, it becomes clear anything can happen. Clever twists keep you guessing throughout. The humor comes from realizing how absurd the two villains are. They’re terrifying people, but also strangely funny because they seem completely unfazed by their own bizarre actions.

2) Arachnophobia

Director Christopher Landon, known for films like Happy Death Day and Freaky, had planned to remake Arachnophobia, but the project fell through, similar to his plans for Scream 7. He ultimately backed away from the remake due to concerns about his vision, which involved a particularly gruesome concept: spiders laying eggs inside people. Landon intended to create a truly disturbing and unsettling body horror film.

That idea could have been fun, but it would have changed the feel of the movie too much. The original has a charming, small-town atmosphere that’s slowly destroyed by a dangerous and rapidly multiplying spider. Arachnophobia is very similar in spirit to Gremlins, which makes sense since Steven Spielberg was an executive producer on both films.

Stream Arachnophobia on fuboTV.

1) Dead Alive

Peter Jackson’s film Braindead (released as Dead Alive in the US) is famous for being incredibly gory and shocking. Surprisingly, it manages to be so extreme without completely turning viewers away.

Similar to Evil Dead 2, the film’s over-the-top silliness makes the gore more humorous than disturbing. At its core, it’s a straightforward story about a son and his controlling mother, and Timothy Balme and Elizabeth Moody deliver fantastic performances as this duo.

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2025-12-13 21:15