As the leaves continue turning that crisp shade of yellow-brown and littering sidewalks everywhere, pumpkin spice is flying off the shelves, and fashion-forward consumers are trading their lightweight blazers for thick woolen sweaters, it seems as though the Fall is officially here. Since we’re officially entering spooky season, it’s obviously time to dig in the crates for some classic horror films, horror comedies, and other fun and exciting pieces of media to set the tone for Halloween and beyond. We’re assuming you’ve already got your favorite slasher flicks well established at this point. But what about the times when you want something scary with a little added humor to break the tension in your movie marathon? Maybe, instead, you want a funny scary movie to lighten the mood?

Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive guide to some of the best funny scary movies that you can stream, rent, and download today. Whether you’re looking for an old classic horror comedy or something fresh off the presses, the following films offer a terrific blend of laughs and gasps. From tongue-in-cheek parodies that poke fun at the tropes of classic 80s horror flicks, to over-the-top fright fests loaded with laughter, these are the best funny scary movies to throw on your watch list today.

Barbarian (2022)

First on our list we have a relatively new funny scary movie: Barbarian. Written and directed by Zach Cregger of the sketch comedy group The Whitest Kids U’Know, this film left audiences far and wide completely shocked when it first dropped in September of 2022. Barbarian‘s plot picks up quickly, and comes jam-packed with unpredictable twists and turns. This film is really best suited to those who go in knowing as little about the plot as humanly possible, so we won’t say much about it here. Suffice is to say, the movie opens on a young woman named Tess who becomes frustrated when she has trouble accessing her Airbnb. To make matters worse, the location of her rental is a deeply sketchy blown-out suburb outside of Detroit, rife with abandoned properties and homeless wanderers.

As stated, things get crazy, funny, and scary as all hell within the first 10 minutes or so of this movie, so it’s well worth throwing on and letting the film take you on a wild ride. Those interested in streaming Barbarian can find the film on Amazon Prime Video.

Fresh (2022)

Next on our list of funny scary movies, we have Fresh, a 2022 Hulu original starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan. While this film is a little more horror than it is comedy, it fearlessly blends elements of both genres to create a gripping, engaging, and downright terrifying narrative. Fresh is the directorial debut of promising young filmmaker Mimi Cave, and touts comedy legend Adam McKay as an executive producer. The film centers on Edgar-Jones’ Noa as she encounters a cute man at the grocery store. While she is at first apprehensive to his forward flirtation, she eventually agrees to go on a date with him. Things quickly take a turn for the worse when Noa discovers a few bizarre appetites held by her new male suitor, leading to a terrifying outcome, with a few hearty laughs along the way.

The Blackening (2022)

If you’re looking for a film with a satirical angle like Scary Movie, genuine themes of race and identity like Get Out, and a few morbid laughs like Barbarian, look no further than 2022’s The Blackening. This horror comedy, which was directed by Barbershop‘s Tim Story, centers on a gang of friends who are targeted by a heinous killer while vacationing at a cabin in a remote forest. This film features an ensemble cast of incredible lesser-known performers, each of whom are definitely on the path to super-stardom. As they attempt to stop the killer from picking them off one by one, the group find themselves falling victim to classic horror movie shenanigans, with the wherewithal and awareness usually only afforded to the audience at home.

Today, you can stream The Blackening on Starz. The movie is a super inventive and refreshing take on a well-tread genre, making it one of the best funny scary movies on this list. While the film is extremely impressive, and touts an 87 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, it still can’t quite compete with our top pick.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022)

Next, the 2022 Netflix original film The Curse of Bridge Hollow provides scares and laughs alike with abundant Halloween vibes. It follows a father and his teenaged daughter, played by Marlon Wayans and Priah Ferguson respectively, as they navigate Bridge Hollow, a fictional, Halloween-obsessed town in their new and possibly haunted home. Howard (Wayans) isn’t a fan of the holiday, but his family attempts to get into the spirit, only for things to begin going very, very wrong.

With a paranormal society, spell books, haunted houses and bursts of action, this family-friendly feature is available to watch on Netflix. This isn’t going to be the top funny Halloween movie choice for those looking for grown-up level scares or mind-bending twists, but it’s something you can sit down and enjoy with the kids for a few laughs and plenty of October spirit.

Gremlins (1984)

If you’re looking for something a little more tried and true for your next Halloween watch party, you can’t go wrong with the iconic creature feature Gremlins. Though it’s technically a Christmas movie, I would argue that the violent slasher sequences, creepy crawly monsters, and harrowing monologues about discovering decaying bodies fits the macabre Halloween spirit much better. For those who don’t know, Gremlins is a funny scary movie about a young man who receives an exotic pet from a mysterious East Asian gift shop. The pet comes with a specific set of rules, including no feeding after midnight, no contact with water, and no bright lights or flash photography. Needless to say, these rules get quickly thrown out the window, and chaos ensues shortly thereafter.

Gremlins is one of those ultra-classic horror comedies perfect for viewers of all ages, but best appreciated by those who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s. Some scenes will leave you with an instant cathartic laugh, like when the perpetually miserable dog killer Mrs. Deagle gets propelled out the window and into a snowbank after the Gremlins cause her stair lift to malfunction. Other scenes will leave your jaw on the floor, like when Billy’s mom goes on a killing spree that wipes out half a dozen of the eponymous monsters, capped by sticking one in the microwave until it explodes into a puddle of horrifying green goop.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Film aficionados are well aware of the effect that Rocky Horror Picture Show has on the viewing public, which is likely why the cult classic has become such a staple of drive-in movie theaters across the nation. The film, which is partially interactive, offers a trippy, scary, and gut-busting viewing experience, suitable for those looking to induct their friends into the cult of Tim Curry’s infectious performance. If you’re in the mood for a straightforward, concise, and well-explained plot, you can go ahead and skip this one. However, if you’re interested in a musical offering rife with sensuality, absurdity, and a few big laughs, you can’t do much better than Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Unfortunately, this film isn’t currently available to stream on any major service, though it can be rented or purchased through digital retailers such as YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. Some people love this controversial hit, and some people hate it, so it will definitely spark a lively discussion if you throw it on during your Halloween watch-a-thon.

One Cut Of The Dead (2017)

No watch list is complete without at least one terrific foreign film. Here, we’re filling that slot with the critically acclaimed Japanese outing One Cut Of The Dead. Much like Barbarian, One Cut Of The Dead is best watched when you have zero preconceived knowledge of the plot, so we’ll be extra careful not to spoil anything here. Just know that it’s a zombie film designed to look like a single take, and you need to continue watching after the credits roll.

Beyond that, we’ll let you see for yourself why this film has a 100 percent certified fresh critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, an international cult following, and an omertà that would leave the real life mob jealous. The film was developed on a shoestring budget from a small team of passionate indie filmmakers, and that drive and dedication really shines through in the final product. One Cut Of The Dead can be streamed via Philo, Sling TV, or Amazon Prime with an AMC+ add-on.

Scary Movie Franchise (2000-2013)

Unlike most of the entries on this list, the Scary Movie franchise is much more of a straightforward comedy than it is horror. Still, we couldn’t complete a list of funny scary movies without the undisputed G.O.A.T. of funny scary movies. For those that didn’t grow up constantly quoting these films with friends throughout the entire 21st century, the Scary Movie films are a series of 5 installments, each of which satirize, parody, and expertly spoof horror tropes and modern movie cliches. Over the course of these 5 films, comedy legends like Anthony Anderson, Kevin Hart, Charlie Sheen, and Anna Faris provide gut-busting laughs while making fun of films like Scream, Saw, War of the Worlds, Cabin in the Woods, The Exorcist, and more.

The Scary Movie franchise has brought in nearly $1 billion at the global box office across all five entries, and each film has achieved cult status shortly after release. If you’ve never watched a Scary Movie outing from beginning to end, chances are you’ve heard a few of the jokes repeated in your day-to-day life, or seen a few hilarious moments from the films in memes and other online circles.

Nope (2022)

Though legendary filmmaker Jordan Peele initially got his start in the film and television industry through comedy, representing one half of the iconic Key & Peele, the auteur has gone on to helm some truly incredible works of horror. His directorial debut, 2017’s Get Out, was such a critically acclaimed smash hit that Peele was instantly recognized as the modern godfather of horror, paving the way for additional hits with 2019’s Us and 2022’s Nope. While all three of these films offer a blend of Peele’s brilliant comedic sensibilities with some incredible horror, Nope offers the most side-splitting jokes and sequences.

Nope follows Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ and Keke Palmer’s Em, as they search for answers regarding a series of mysterious happenings on their family farm. Before long, the siblings uncover evidence of an unidentified flying object, which seems to be feeding on local horses, raining blood from the sky, and intelligently hiding behind clouds and mountaintops. In a bid to prove their hypothesis, OJ and Em set out to document the creature at all costs, though outsmarting the extraterrestrial proves to be quite a herculean task. Nope is one of the funniest scary movies of all time, and offers an unparalleled viewing experience sure to make your Halloween watch list a hit. Today, the film can be streamed on Starz.

Little Monsters (2019)

Not to be confused with the 1989 film of a similar name, 2019’s Little Monsters stars Lupita Nyong’o and Alexander England. It centers around washed up musician, Dave (England) who gains an interest in his son’s kindergarten teacher, Audrey (Nyong’o). He helps out with chaperoning a field trip to a local farm in an attempt to be close to said teacher. There’s just one problem that turns this from a romcom to a funny scary movie: zombies.

A U.S. testing facility experiences a breach, releasing hundred of shambling zombies into the world, with many of them headed to the farm. It’s up to Dave, Audrey, and a children’s television personality who happened to be present to protect a gaggle of kindergarteners from being devoured. Comedy and terror blend with the absurdity of the situation and the realistic fear of wanting to protect children from forces outside of your control.

If you’re into zombie movies, give Little Monsters a shot this Halloween season. It’s available to stream on Hulu.

Day Shift (2022)

Bud Jablonski, played by Jamie Foxx, is a blue-collar pool cleaner in J.J. Perry’s 2022 action horror comedy debut, Day Shift. Or, at least, that’s what Bud would have you believe. In reality, he provides for his family by being a vampire hunter. It turns out, though, that selling fangs at the pawn shop isn’t quite enough to net enough to pay for his daughter’s high private school fees. The realization drives Bud to rejoin the vampire hunting union. Aided by “Big” John Elliott, an old friend and veteran vampire hunter played by Snoop Dogg, he’s ready to face his old boss and get back into the formal world of vamp slaying.

Though it was met with mixed reviews, the Los Angeles Times called it a “damned delight.” You can clock into this day shift on Netflix for a funny scary movie that definitely delivers on everything you could want from a film where Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg are vampire hunters.

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