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The Best 1980s Horror Comedies, Ranked
The 1970s may have been the home of Black Christmas, Halloween, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the 2010s may have seen the rise of elevated horror, but for many the 1980s is still the apex of scary movie history. On one hand, you get more straightforward classics like The Thing, The Shining, Friday the 13th, The Evil Dead, and The Fly. On the other, equally important hand, it was the very best decade for horror comedies. So good, in fact, that in narrowing things down to 10 entries, we had to leave off Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, Little Shop of Horrors, April Fool’s Day, The Monster Squad, Motel Hell, and Night of the Comet.
All of those movies are either very good or excellent, and they all contributed something to two genres simultaneously. But the following 10 movies? They contributed even more.
10) Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The Chiodo brothers’ Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a B movie, for sure, but it’s also wildly inventive and stuffed with genuinely impressive practical effects. There’s a reason it’s held onto its place in the pop culture lexicon for as long as it has, to the point it recently got a video game by the same name. And yet we’ve never gotten a sequel, though one has long been discussed.
What makes Killer Klowns work, and what makes all of the best horror comedies work, is its self-awareness. It only seeks to entertain, and it’ll throw shadow T. rex kills and alien clown (sorry, Klown) kaiju at the audience until it makes an impact.
Stream Killer Klowns from Outer Space on Prime Video.
9) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
Even though it follows the events of the original film and comes from the same director, Tobe Hooper, it’s almost unfair to compare The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. After all, they’re intentionally very different animals.
And that’s what makes Part 2 so special. The original film is so straightforward and realistic that it’s truly impressive Hooper decided to take things in a black comedy direction with the sequel a decade later. Better yet, the movie doesn’t forget to be unsettling, just in a different way than the first one pulled it off. In fact, the way the film takes its events so lightly arguably makes them even more horrifying than they would have been if things had been played straight. Not to mention, while Marilyn Burns’ Sally Hardesty is usually seen as the franchise’s best protagonist, it’s really Caroline Williams’ Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock all the way.
Stream The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 on Prime Video.
8) Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps doesn’t just deftly balance horror and comedy, but the sci-fi and action genres, as well. It’s the 1980s’ jack of all trades cult movie.
The film’s devotion to character is what allows it to soar, but it’s also unafraid to go for some big swings in the narrative department. One moment it’s a takedown of frat boy culture, the next it’s harkening back to ’50s alien invasion movies, the next it has a cat infected by an alien slug, the next it shows a little alien running around a spaceship…it’s just a bizarre blast all the way through. It’s as if John Hughes made a horror comedy.
7) The Return of the Living Dead
A zombie film nearly as important as the George A. Romero classic it’s emulating, The Return of the Living Dead is a smart movie in silly coating. And it works like a charm, even if non-horror aficionados may not appreciate the genre as much as the movie itself clearly does.
As for why it’s important, this is where the notion that zombies specifically eat brains came from. But that’s not all the movie contributed to the subgenre, as it also gave it a punk rock style and showed that such a direction could work.
Stream The Return of the Living Dead on Prime Video.
6) The Lost Boys
One of the 1980s’ very best vampire films, and certainly its most stylish, Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys is a fresh spin on a well-worn subgenre. Not to mention, its impressive cast list all came to play, fully understanding the exact tone the film was going for.
Like Night of the Creeps, The Lost Boys coasts on its creators’ clear love for the genre their contributing to. This is most clearly seen in the Frog brothers, who spend their days hanging around a comic book shop, binge reading horror stories as if they’re prepping to live one.
5) Creepshow
One of the earliest Stephen King movies just so happens to be the one that has best captured his love for the horror genre. The little boy in Creepshow‘s wraparound segments very well feels as though he could be a stand-in for King himself. And that would make sense, considering King wrote the film, and even stars in one of its segments.
Speaking of the segments, all five of them are excellent. Better yet, they only get better as the film progresses. “Father’s Day” is straightforward and creepy, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” (the one starring King) is wacky and inventive, “Something to Tide You Over” is a fantastic double revenge story, “The Crate” is a unique monster tale, and “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the greatest nightmare an entomophobe could watch.
4) Re-Animator
Combining Stuart Gordon’s uniquely fantastical style with H. P. Lovecraft’s ambitious yet intimate storytelling, Re-Animator is body horror that has great fun with the human body. And the notion of the soul, when you get down to it.
The film walks a camp tightrope yet never falls off on either side. On one hand this is because of tight, knowing direction by Gordon, but equally substantial credit is due Jeffrey Combs for his performance as Herbert West. He’s so note-perfect it’s impossible to imagine anyone else leading this particular movie.
Stream Re-Animator for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
3) An American Werewolf in London
Along with The Thing and The Fly, An American Werewolf in London features some of the absolute best practical effects in horror film history. Film history in general, as a matter of fact.
But it’s not just the film’s startling transformation scene that makes it a classic, as there’s also its terrifyingly tense opening on the Moors and the attention to the psychological effects becoming a lupine is having on the protagonist. Toss in a compelling and believable love story and American Werewolf is one of John Landis’ best movies.
Stream An American Werewolf in London for free on Kanopy.
2) Gremlins
We’re finally getting a third Gremlins movie and here’s hoping it strikes the horror comedy balance the first film did as opposed to the overly comedic route of the second film. Not so much because Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a failure, because it’s effective in its own right, but the original film’s mixture of small-town vibes, monster movie mania, and a very dark sense of humor is just such a perfect blend.
From the music to the lead performances by Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, everything about Gremlins was perfectly orchestrated. Toss in a healthy dose of that Spielberg Amblin vibe and you have one of the most beloved films of the ’80s.
Stream Gremlins on Hulu.
1) Evil Dead II
Sam Raimi’s masterpiece, Evil Dead II isn’t just the best horror comedy of the 1980s, it’s the best horror comedy of all time. It takes the first film’s creepy cabin in the woods narrative, replicates it, but stuffs it into a Looney Tunes cartoon.
It almost shouldn’t work, considering how gruesome Deadite narratives are, but gruesome and silly end up being a match made in heaven. No two moments in Evil Dead II are ever the same. It consistently beats itself at its own bizarre game until, before the viewer knows it, the movie’s over. That’s not to say the movie is too short. In fact, it is the exact length it should be. It doesn’t leave the viewer unsatisfied just as it doesn’t overstay its welcome, which very well could have happened with a narrative so far removed from reality and a serious tone.
Stream Evil Dead II for free on Kanopy.
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