With Halloween upon us, it’s the best time to freshen up on your horror film viewings. Some people choose the films that scare them the most, some choose films that are more family-friendly, and some choose films that can be both funny and scary. Many of them are slashers; some can send chills down your spine, but some can also have you rolling with laughter, especially the new ones.
Slasher films nowadays love making fun of each other, likeScreamandChild’s Playbeing notable examples. While not every satire or metafictional piece can hit the mark, there are those that can and do pay great homage to the genre. Comedy and horror are particularly hard to blend, but when it works, you have to sit back and have fun with it. So, which slasher films are the most fun and why?
10’The Final Girls' (2015)
Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson
There’s nothing like finding yourself in the world of an ‘80s slasher film that your mother stars in. That’s the case withThe Final Girls, a 2015 slasher comedy written byM.A. FortinandJoshua John Millerand directed byTodd Strauss-Schulson. As Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmigia) grieves about the death of her B-movie actress mother Amanda (Malin Åkerman), she and her friends get transported into one of her films, entitledCamp Bloodbath.
Farmigia and Åkerman make for a strong mother-daughter team on screen, and the supporting cast consisting ofAlia Shawkat,Alexander Ludwig,Nina Dobrev,Thomas Middleditch, andAdam Devineprovide plenty of laughs and entertainment value. The best parts are whenthe characters have to rely on their knowledge of horror tropes in order to survivethe killer within the film.With sharp writing,The Final Girlsmanages to be a fun sendup of ‘80s slashers.
The Final Girls (2015)
9’Freaky' (2020)
Directed by Christopher Landon
Christopher Landonhas a great knack for combining slashers with unique comedic premises, particularly those borrowed from modern classics. One of them isFreaky, which is a body-swap film that’s been described asFreaky FridaymeetsFriday the 13th. The film centers around bullied teenager Millie (Kathryn Newton) who accidentally switches bodies with a middle-aged male serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn).
The script by Landon andMichael Kennedyworks, but theone element that absolutely must be nailed in the body-swapping subgenre is the performances of the actors, and that’s exactly what happened with Newton and Vaughn inFreaky.When Newton switches over to a sadistic male killer and Vaughn switches over to an awkward teenage girl, it’s hilarious. Add a strong supporting cast plus some scares andFreakysucceeds with its simple but well-executed premise.
8’Tragedy Girls' (2017)
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
Imagine a series of killings terrorizing your small town and the culprits are actually two teenage girls who love true crime. That’s the twist on the slasher genre forTragedy Girls, an independent comedy by directorTyler MacIntrye.Alexandra ShippandBrianna Hildebrandplay McKayla and Sadie, respectively, who decide togrow their online true crime-centered brand by committing several murdersand framing a local serial killer.
Not only do Shipp and Hildebrand shine in their roles as the delightfully psychopathic Tragedy Girls, but so do the impressive supporting cast, includingJack Quaid,Kevin Durand,Craig Robinson, andJosh Hutcherson.Tragedy Girlsisnot discussed as much as other slashers have been over the years, but it should be, with its poking fun at the obsession with social media and true crime. Hopefully, it can find new life in the streaming world as it is both entertaining and twisted.
Tragedy Girls
7’Bride of Chucky' (1998)
Directed by Ronny Yu
TheChild’s Playfranchise was in need of some revitalization after the disappointment ofChild’s Play 3in 1991. CreatorDon Mancinidecided to incorporate a more humorous approach with the fourth installment, released in 1998 and titledBride of Chucky. This time, the focus was on the killer doll Chucky himself (voiced byBrad Dourif) and his reunion with his girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly).
Bride of Chucky—directed byRonny Yu—isconsidered by many fans to be the best of theChild’s Playfilms. With a campy tone and a metafictional turn, the film takes more advantage of its wild premise about killer dolls. It’s also garnered a big cult following, with particular devotion to the character Tiffany. So if you’re watching theChild’s Playfilms for the first time and feel like they’re running out of steam,you might change your mind withBride of Chucky.
Bride of Chucky
6’The Blackening' (2023)
Directed by Tim Story
Parody films are hit-and-miss, but one example that actually manages to be funny isThe Blackening. It originally started out as a Comedy Central sketch by improv group3Peatuntil given a theatrical treatment. Directed byTim Storyand starringGrace Byers,Melvin Gregg,andJermaine Fowler, it centers around a group of Black friends spending a Juneteenth weekend together in a cabin in the woods, until they learn they’re being targeted by a masked killer.
The premise itself is a common one in the horror genre, butThe Blackeningstands out for itsability to poke fun at both racial stereotypes and horror tropes. While making sure to establish the camaraderie and comedic chemistry among its characters,the film also succeeds with joke after joke and can appeal to anybody, no matter what race. Unlike theScary Moviefranchise,The Blackeningactually understands parody and knows how to have fun with it.
The Blackening
5’Bodies Bodies Bodies' (2022)
Directed by Halina Reijn
Every whodunit owes something to the works of legendary authorAgatha Christie, andBodies Bodies Bodiesis no exception. Directed byHalina Reijnand described as a Christie-style mystery meets Gen Z, it centers around a group of friends taking shelter in a mansion during a hurricane and playing a murder mystery game. It’s harmless at first until one of them winds up dead. From there, fingers are pointed and truths are revealed,leading to darkly hilarious results.
What makesBodies Bodies Bodiesespeciallywork is the casting—Amandla Stenberg,Maria Bakalova,Rachel Sennott, andPete Davidsonare particular standouts in an amazingly funny cast that brings so much energy and tension as the characters try to solve the mystery. Not only that, but the film was alsounexpectedly satirical of the digital age and current social politics.Bodies Bodies Bodieswill not only have you guessing, but also laughing.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
4’Totally Killer' (2023)
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan
Kiernan Shipkahas the makings of a scream queen. Not only was she Sabrina Spellman inChilling Adventures of Sabrinaand appeared in this year’sLonglegs, but she also starred in the underrated 2023 slasher comedy calledTotally Killer, directed byNahnatchka Khan. After Jamie’s (Shipka) mother Pam (Julie Bowen) is murdered by a serial killer who also killed her friends as teenagers, she goes back in time to the ‘80s to prevent their impending deaths.
The best way to describeTotally Killeris “Back to the FuturemeetsScream”. The script—written byDavid Matalon,Sasha Perl-Raver, andJen D’Angelo—takes full advantage of its clever premise, setting up twists and turns without feeling heavy-handed in exposition. Shipka shines as a badass lead while also providing laughs in the fish-out-of-water scenes in the ‘80s.Totally Killeris a totally fun slasher thatshould have gotten more recognition during the 2023 Spooky Season, but hopefully it can find a bigger fanbase with time.
Totally Killer
3’Happy Death Day' (2017) and ‘Happy Death Day 2U’ (2019)
What if you were killed on your birthday but found yourself reliving that same day over and over again, stuck in a time-loop and can only get out if you find your murderer? That is the main premise ofHappy Death Day, directed by the genre-mixingChristopher Landon. But what if you woke up and not only found yourself stuck in a time-loop, but in a parallel timeline? That is what describes the sequel, entitledHappy Death Day 2U.
Both films starredJessica Rotheas Tree, a college student who has to deal with the pain of dying over and over again while beating the killer, leading to complicated and often funny results. The first film was described asGroundhog DaymeetsScream, whereas the sequel paid more homage toBack to the Future. Nevertheless,until a potential third film is made, theHappy Death Dayseries remains a uniquely funny slasher duology.
Happy Death Day
2’Tucker & Dale vs. Evil' (2010)
Directed by Eli Craig
What a doozy of a film! By taking full advantage of its brilliant premise,Tucker and Dale vs. Evilis one of the most fun slashers ever made. Directed byEli Craig, who co-wrote the script withMorgan Jurgenson, the film centers around hillbilly best friends Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) who are mistaken for a pair of killers by a group of college students, including one with a personal score to settle.
The film has the basic setup of a cabin-in-the-woods-esque slasher while still following up with several brutal but humorous kills.In a hilarious series of mishaps and understandings, the college students keep thinking that Tucker and Dale are the evil ones, and then they realize they have to be the heroes. Thankfully,Tucker and Dale vs. Evilhas gotten more of a following over the yearsand rightfully so, as it is a delightfully killer time.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
1The ‘Scream’ series (1996-2023)
Directed by Wes Craven (1-4) and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (5-6)
WhichScream?All of them! ScreenwriterKevin Williamsonsought topay homage to the horror genre with a satirical take on slasher tropes and cliches, and he greatly succeeded with the late and greatWes Cravenat the directing helm, then followed byMatt Bettinelli-OlpinandTyler Gillett. It all started with the first installment centered around a masked killer known as Ghostface calling his victims before killing them, followed by five more sequels following suit.
Screamis one of the highest-grossing and most popular horror franchises ever. Besides making stars out ofNeve Campbell,David Arquette,Courteney Cox,Melissa Barrera, andJenna Ortega, eachScreamfilm served as ameta-textual deconstruction of various narrative forms—sequels, trilogies, reboots, remakes, requels, and so on. Mostly so, the films are just highly entertaining, providing not just laughs and chills, but also a lot of heart at times. We all scream forScream!
