On the face of it, it’s peculiar that the horror comedy is such a pervading and prolific genre. You would think that the acts of being terrified and being tickled are such opposite emotions that they just don’t go together. That the scares will be neutralized by the laughs, and vice versa.
Yet if you think about it, humour and horror actually appeal to a similar part of the brain as they are both quite primal reactions. And, as we’ve seen in many instances, they can actually complement each other very well in a movie. The jokes are stronger when put against a darker backdrop and the scares are more punctuated if they catch us while we’re laughing.
Obviously, sometimes the mix miss the mark on both accounts, but other times the blend of styles produces something brilliant. From old favourites to modern classics, here are 10 hilarious horror comedies you should watch this Halloween.
