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The Simpsons: Every Treehouse of Horror From Seasons 21-30 Ranked
The Simpsons‘ annual Treehouse of Horror specials admittedly went through a rough time during its 20s. While there are many classic episodes that really stand the test of tough even after all these years, there are many from this particular era of the animated series that are remembered for all the wrong reasons. Out of all the eras of The Simpsons, this one is undoubtedly going to be the toughest in figuring out which Treehouse of Horror specials actually were better than the others. But it’s not like it’s all lost hope either as there are some true gems in this generation as well.
When ranking the best Treehouse of Horror specials from The Simpsons Seasons 21 through 30, there are a lot of things you have to forgive and potentially grade on a curve compared to the others. Based on scare factor, strength of the core story idea, whether or not it actually involves Horror, and whether or not all three segments in a year are great, here our our picks of every Treehouse of Horror from The Simpsons Seasons 21 through 30 ranked from weakest to strongest.
10). Treehouse of Horror XXI
One of the unfortunate trends of this era of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror is the fact that many of the stories no longer have a Horror focus. Treehouse of Horror XXI does start out with the promising “War and Pieces” that uses satanic magic to turn board games into a deadly reality (and kills off a lot of Springfielders in quick and bloody succession), but then it’s followed with “Master and Cadaver.” While it does take on an erotic thriller for the first real time, it’s just not as compelling as you would hope. Then any good will is completely buried with its dry and unfunny Twilight parody, “Tweenlight.”
This year has some great guest stars in it like Hugh Laurie and David Radcliffe, but it’s just not a great year for Horror. It’s just not fun to watch for the majority of its run time, but it’s not exactly bad enough to leave a lasting impression either.
9). Treehouse of Horror XXII
Treehouse of Horror XXII is probably the most notorious of this era, and it’s hard not to see why with “The Diving Bell and the Butterball.” When Homer is paralyzed by a spider bite, it’s revealed he can only communicate through farts. It’s an idea that ultimately doesn’t go anywhere, and even sees him become a farting version of Spider-Man by its end. It’s painful to watch due to the lack of laughs and horror, but it does deserve to be at least higher than the previous entry because it’s eliciting an emotion in the first place rather just being tired.
It’s saved a bit by “Dial D for Diddly” as Homer tricks Ned into being a serial killer cause there are some good jokes towards the end, but then it all wraps up with a parody of Avatar in “In the Na’vi.” It’s unfunny, not scary in the slightest. But being outright bad, once again, does better slot in in fans’ memory.
8). Treehouse of Horror XXIV
Treehouse of Horror XXIV does have a lot of promise in that it kicks off with a cool opening directed by Guillermo Del Toro. It then follows it up with a fun art mix up with its Dr. Seuss parody, “Oh, the Places You’ll D’oh!” It has some surprisingly brutal moments it can get away with in this art style too, so it makes the most of the idea. “Dead and Shoulders” does a serviceable job of keeping up the momentum with a Futurama like idea of Bart’s head getting sewn onto Lisa’s shoulders. The finale itself is properly bleak, violent and fun.
The third segment then goes full black and white with its take on the legendary 1930 film Freaks, “Freaks, No Geeks.” It keeps up the violence with some wild takes on Springfield’s most memorable characters, and does have a satisfying conclusion to it all. There’s a sense that all of these segments are tied into one another (especially with the callback joke in the third segment), and that always helps out to increase the strength of the overall experience.
7). Treehouse of Horror XXVI
Treehouse of Horror XXVI has one of the strongest opening segments of this era of The Simpsons, but isn’t able to keep up the pace. “Wanted: Dead, Then Alive” imagines a world where Sideshow Bob finally kills Bart, only to then be so bored after killing his longtime rival that he continues to revive and kill Bart in increasingly brutal or hilarious ways. It’s then followed by “Homerzilla,” which apes 1954’s classic Godzilla film in some ways that have aged rather terribly in our current climate as everyone speaks with faux Japanese dialogue styles.
It’s also made much worse because it in no way compares to the classic “King Homer.” But it’s mostly saved by “Telepaths of Glory.” Chronicle is far from a Horror film, but Lisa and Milhouse getting those same kinds of power leads to a lot of fun visuals you don’t normally get to see in The Simpsons thanks to its found footage gimmick. It feels inventive compared to a lot of other stuff seen this era.
6). Treehouse of Horror XXIX
As the final Treehouse of Horror released in this era, Treehouse of Horror XXXIX is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some great ideas like with “Intrusion of the Pod-y Switchers” that sees the Earth taken over by plants only to reveal that these aliens just wanted to save them from being addicted to their phones on Earth. The takeover sequence has a lot of fun jokes from who gets killed off, and even makes some fun callbacks to the past. “Multiplisa-ty” then puts Lisa in the place of James McAvoy in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split.
It’s a fun segment that lets Yeardley Smith play around with different personalities as she tortures Bart, Milhouse and Nelson. Much like the film, there’s not a lot of violence (outside of one short burst) but there’s a lot of fun to be mined from how pathetic Milhouse can be during all of this. But then “Geriatric Park” ends it it all in such an uninspired take on Jurassic Park. Yes it can be funny seeing the old folks turn into dinosaurs, but it’s just the one joke. It all just seems so tepid, and lacking in teeth (especially with the lack of follow through in their endings) compared to the strongest Halloween specials of this same era.
5). Treehouse of Horror XXV
Treehouse of Horror XXV is also in an interesting place. The segments this year aren’t really as scary as some others, but it really stands out from the bottom half of this era because its visuals and core ideas are a lot of fun (at least for two of them). “School Is Hell” literally goes to Hell and gets away with a lot of horrific and gruesome imagery because Bart is doing well at school. There are some fun jokes here too that get the most out of a single line reading like “Torture?”
“A Clockwork Yellow” then places Moe in the world of A Clockwork Orange, but mileage will definitely vary here. There are a lot of jokes here based on Kubrick’s works, and if you don’t care about them then the climax here just won’t work. Thankfully, it’s all saved by the very creative, “The Others.” It’s not the scariest idea either, but having The Simpsons family being haunted by The Tracy Ullman Show versions of them is just such a neat pull. It’s a bit fan-servicey for sure, but it does find a lot to do with this idea than you would expect.
4). Treehouse of Horror XXVII
As the 600th episode of The Simpsons overall, Treehouse of Horror XXVII does have quite a lot of fun. It has a cool opening where couches take over the world, and does have a lot of character death despite the fact that it doesn’t have a lot of direct horror. “Dry Hard” is inspired by The Hunter Games (and later Mad Max), and while it doesn’t have scares it has quite a lot of kills (especially with one very funny kill for Ralph). The second entry takes this further as “BFF R.I.P.” has Lisa’s imaginary friend brutally killing her real friends (with Milhouse’s death being particularly gruesome).
“MoeFinger” then takes on Kingsman and has Bart killing a ton of others. This is a tough one to rank so highly because it’s not based in Horror like some of the other stories that would be considered weaker, but it makes up for it with just how much violence there is on display this time around. Much of it might be joke kills (like usual), but there are a ton of deaths to be found here. Maybe the most of this era of specials.
3). Treehouse of Horror XX
Treehouse of Horror XX was an interesting kick off to this era overall. This Treehouse of Horror special aired ahead of Halloween for the first time in a decade, and played with its Horror ideas. “Dial “M” for Murder or Press “#” to Return to Main Menu” was a black and white, Alfred Hitchcock inspired short saw Bart murdering Miss Hoover (with some hilarious lingo for “ding dong ditch”), “Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind,” was a legitimately creepy take on 28 Days Later as Springfield turned into a mass of mad cow disease laden “munchers,” and “There’s No Business Like Moe Business” went full broadway musical as Moe used parts of Homer’s blood to make his drinks better.
There’s a lot of variety in the three shorts depicted here, and it really kicked off a promising era for The Simpsons at this time. It’s one of the few Treehouse of Horror specials that has something fun with each of its segments (rather than one outweighing the others), and it still holds up.
2). Treehouse of Horror XXIII
Treehouse of Horror XXIII thankfully does have a fair share of Horror, but the first segment is more science fiction horror based with “The Greatest Story Ever Holed.” This one has a lot of fun with a black hole that opens up in town as the family can’t help but throw trash into it. There are some fantastic gags that come from how brutally people are swallowed into it (with Sideshow Mel having his bones ripped out of his body), and a particularly fun death for Ralph. “Un-normal Activity” uses found footage for some good laughs (like Homer’s “We have stairs?”), and has an ending that once again paints Homer as worse than actual demons.
“Bart and Homer’s Excellent Adventure” unfortunately doesn’t end the year with Horror, but does have a lot of fun with Bart meeting a younger version of Homer. It’s an idea that goes really far with longtime fans, and does have a hilarious gag with tons of Homers throughout history sparking their romance with Marge once more. The fan service really goes a long way with this one, and thankfully the strength of those first two segments helps the experience overall.
1). Treehouse of Horror XXVIII
Treehouse of Horror XXVIII is the strongest of this era of The Simpsons, hands down. It’s likely the one you have heard about the most because of the final segment. “MMM…Homer” has one of the wildest premises in Treehouse of Horror history as Homer gets addicted to eating himself, and it’s unsettling with the way it visualizes it. Homer takes a great pleasure in enjoying himself to the fullest, and it’s incredibly creepy. Thankfully, the first two segments also set fans up for this creepy finale with some kooky stories too.
The middle segment, “Coralisa,” unfortunately doesn’t age too well because of its Neil Gaiman cameo but it looks fantastic with its CG take on the Coraline art style. Then there’s the opener, “The Exor-Sis,” which is the first take on The Exorcist in the series’ run. There’s an awesome song that a possessed Homer sings that demonizes everything around him when he’s doing it, and that’s the best Treehouse of Horror scene we’ve seen in years at this point. This is definitely the best one to revisit from this era.
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