In honor of the 38th anniversary of one of our favorite zombie horror comedies, we have a list of the best zombie horror comedies ever to be released. The Return of the Living Dead was one of the first films that explicitly melded zombie horror with humor. The film was based on the horror novel of the same name by John Russo, a co-writer of Night of the Living Dead. Director and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon wanted to write the script and add details to make his film different from Romero's Living Dead series. That's how the ideas of eating brains and the zombies feeling pain when they aren't eating got into the mix. The soundtrack's music is another innovative part of the film, with punk and death rock bands matching the punk aesthetic of the film's characters. Return of the Living Dead proved that horror and comedy are inexorably entwined and go together like braaaaiiins and zombies. You'll see that zombie comedy is undead and seeking fresh meat with the news that Meg 2: The Trench Ben Wheatley's next project is a zombie satire series called Generation Z. Read more: More Brains: The 9 Reasons Why Return Of The Living Dead Rules.
Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland, set in the ruins of the post-zombie-apocalyptic United States, is, first and foremost, a comedy. The film, like Scream, has a set of rules described by Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) with onscreen titles that break the fourth wall. However, the zombie goodness is not left out with an exciting opening sequence, set to a Metallica song, that details funny but disturbing outbreaks as they happen. The zombie bride attacking the groom, strip club patrons fleeing zombie dancers, and one lady running while still clutching her morning beverage are only some of the comedy moments in the opening sequence. Zombieland stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin, directed by Ruben Fleischer.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Image Credit: Universal Studios
Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead is an excellent example of a zombie movie that combines comedy and terror. Like The Return of the Living Dead, there are scenes of zombie violence and moments of comic relief. The reason the comedy is so entwined into the Dawn of the Dead remake's DNA is simple. First of all, Romero's original did have humor in it. Don't forget the scenes with the bikers, the pies in the face, and the use of the comedic The Gonk theme music. Secondly, James Gunn wrote the remake, and Gunn is known for the comedy in nearly all of his screenplays. The elevator scene, the scene where the survivors play the macabre game of celebrity zombie target practice, and others make sure that the Dawn remake is grimly hilarious. Check out this review of Dawn of the Dead from Fangoria's The Gingold Files.
Juan of the Dead (2010)
Image Credit: Outsider Pictures
Alejandro Brugués wrote and directed the Goya-winning zombie horror comedy set in Cuba, Juan of the Dead. Juan ( Alexis Díaz de Villegas) and his friend Lazaro (Jorge Molina) discover a zombie on a raft in the ocean. When the zombie plague begins on the island, Juan starts a business to put his zombie-killing skills to work. He and his friends offer to kill zombified loved ones for people. This riotous zombie horror comedy is a cult zombie classic and stars Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Eliécer Ramírez, Andros Perrugorría, Jorge Molina Enríquez, and Jazz Vilá. Brugués' newest film is Satanic Hispanics which comes out next month, and you can read about it in Fangoria as well as a list of Latino horror films.
Dead Alive (1992)
Image Credit: IMDB
Before Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings, he made horror films. One of them was the uproarious zombie horror comedy Dead Alive. Lionel is a man who lives with his mother in Wellington, New Zealand. His mother is bitten by a "rat monkey" at the zoo after she follows Lionel and his new love on a date. The movie becomes a "splatstick" comedy as more and more people get infected, and Lionel is forced to take matters into his own hands.
Re-Animator (1985)
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Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator brings both the maximum zombie scares and dark humor. An adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's Herbert West–Reanimator, the trouble here isn't zombie infection, but West's re-agent injected in people who have died. West is trying to conquer death and, in doing so, will re-animate nearly anyone, including his roommate Dan's cat. The classic quip, "I was busy pushing bodies around, as you well know, and what would a note say, Dan? "Cat dead, details later"? This hand-over-your-mouth zombie horror comedy stars Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, and David Gale.
One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Image Credit: IMDB
This Japanese zombie horror comedy written and directed by Shin'ichirō Ueda is a refreshing twist on the subgenre. While the film seems to be one thing, it is really something totally different, and both the comedy, about filmmaking and zombies, and horror, as you watch zombies attack a film set, work great together. It's hard to say more without spoiling how the film works, but it is a terrific and unconventional zombie horror comedy. It stars Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Kazuaki Nagaya, and Harumi Syuhama. You can read more about the French remake of One Cut of the Dead, Final Cut in Fangoria, which will reanimate in cinemas soon.
Dead Snow (2009)
Image Credit: IMDB
Dead Snow is an idea that hasn't been used as often in horror, Nazi zombies, and it really takes the idea and runs with it. There actually was a horror film with aquatic Nazi zombies with Peter Cushing called Shock Waves, so the basic concept isn't new. What's new is the layers of comedy as a group of Norwegian skiers accidentally awaken the zombie menace and have to fight for their lives in an increasingly horrific situation. Tommy Wirkola directed it, and it stars Vegar Hoel, Stig Frode Henriksen, and Charlotte Frogner. Fangoria has a review of Dead Snow as part of the Gingold Files.
Cooties (2014)
Image Credit: IMDB
Oh no, it's the kids! In Cooties, teachers at an elementary school are horrified to learn that the kids at the school are turning into hungry zombies. Oops. It turns out that tainted food from the cafeteria is to blame, and the infection spreads through bites. Saw creator Leigh Whannel co-wrote the screenplay, and Cooties was co-directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion. Some of the kids aren't very nice even before they become zombies. Cooties stars Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, and Leigh Whannell.
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Image Credit: IMDB
Night of the Creeps is, at heart, a horror comedy satire with the main plot point of aliens releasing a parasite on Earth that turns human beings into zombies. Two college students trying to join a fraternity accidentally release the frozen parasite-infected zombie corpse, and it's zombie time. A local police detective is obsessed with the original incident and tries to stop the zombies from taking over. The film contains the classic line from Tom Atkins' character Detective Ray Cameron where he says, "I got good news and bad news, girls. The good news is your dates are here." When a sorority sister asks about the bad news, Cameron replies, "They're dead." The film was directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad) and stars Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall, and Jill Whitlow.
Cemetery Man (1994)
Image Credit: IMDB
Cemetery Man or Dellamorte Dellamore is an Italian comedy horror film where the graveyard caretaker must kill the newly risen bodies of those recently buried there and return as zombies. Directed by Michele Soavi (Stage Fright), the film also has a theme of unreality where you are not sure what the unfortunate character Francesco Dellamorte is happening as the women he falls in love with keep coming to bad ends. The film stars Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, and Anna Falchi.
Night of the Comet (1984)
Image Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc
In Night of the Comet, Earth passes through the tail of a comet, and those unwary people who watch the event either turn into dust or become ravenous zombies. On a suddenly depopulated Earth, two sisters are indoors all night, trying to find a way to survive. Neither of them had a particularly happy relationship with their stepmother, who became red dust. The comedy is more about their attempts to figure out the new world; both characters are strong women who won't be taken advantage of. It stars Robert Beltran, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Sharon Farrell, and Mary Woronov.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Image Credit: Rogue Pictures
Of course, no discussion of zombie horror comedies would be complete without the most beloved of them all, Shaun of the Dead. This "zom-rom-com," directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg, is a masterful comedy and love letter to the zombie subgenre. It satirizes and celebrates many of the elements of zombie films in a way that only people who love the genre can. George Romero was said to have loved the movie, and you can't get a better stamp of approval than his. It stars Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, and Bill Nighy. Shaun of the Dead was an instant hall-of-fame zombie horror comedy.
