Best Horror Comedies

Remember when Tim Burton was awesome? Those were good times. Case in point: his 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice. This is one of the most visually and thematically inventive movies he's ever made. The tale of a couple who die and come back to haunt their New England country home is alternately bizarre and hilarious. The best thing about the movie is how the real horrors are the living people, the Deetzes. As they transform the house into a modern hellhole, the prior owners enlist the help of Betelgeuse, a professional "bio-exorcist" who turns out to be more trouble than he's worth.

James Gunn's hilariously-gross 2006 flick, Slither, occupies a special place in the heart of horror comedy fans for how much it pushes the envelope in just about every direction. The film tells the tale of a gross alien parasite that crashes to Earth in a meteor outside a small town. It takes over a local car dealer and starts breeding like crazy, unleashing hundreds of totally gross monsters on the town. Slither has an incredible mix of nasty gore, awesome physical effects and some laugh out loud scenes.

Zombies have always been ripe material for comedy, but Edgar Wright's classic Shaun Of The Dead takes things to a new level. When a shiftless salesman finds himself the last line of defense against the rapacious undead, the laughs come in equal rate to the beheadings. This is the movie that made Edgar Wright a household name in the States, and for good reason: it's funny no matter how many times you watch it. You know it's good when George Romero was so impressed that he gave Wright and star Simon Pegg cameo roles as zombies in Land Of The Dead.

Going back into the archives for this deep cut, but if you haven't seen Young Frankenstein, you're missing out on what may well be Mel Brooks's funniest movie. Shot entirely in glorious black and white, the flick takes the classic tale of a mad scientist who creates a monster out of corpse parts, and twists it beyond recognition. The cast is one of the best in comedy history, with Gene Wilder ruling as the crazy doctor and Peter Boyle as the monster. One of the best horror comedies of all time.