History Main / SlidingScaleOfCOmedyAndHorror

[[redirect:Main/HorrorComedy]

[[redirect:Main/HorrorComedy]]

[[redirect:HorrorComedy]]

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->''"I'm a student of both horror and comedy because they're different sides of the same coin: Both are about using emotion to provoke an instinctual, physical response, and if you're lucky, spontaneous evacuation of bodily waste products."''
-->-- '''Ben [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation "Yahtzee"]] Croshaw''', ''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Extra Punctuation]]''

When people think of {{Comedy}}, they rarely associate it with {{Horror}} and vice versa. However, both make great partners in crime together. If they aren't [[CrossesTheLineTwice Crossing The Line Twice]], they're bringing about a SugarApocalypse and [[RunForTheBorder escaping]] to [[RefugeInAudacity Auda City]]. The reason they work so well together is that viewers need "breathers" between nonstop screaming or nonstop laughing, and one can easily segue into the other.

For purposes of this trope, we'll divide Horror and Comedy hybrids into three categories, Horror dominant, Comedy dominant, and balanced.

'''Horror dominant''' works will use comedy as a mood lightener or "breather" from the tension or gore. Characters will crack wise while they're in a safe spot, and have the monster use a BarrierBustingBlow just as they relax. The benefit of this is that just as viewers relax along with the characters, tension is restored along with the scare. Other ways to use comedy in a horror movie is to treat viewers to some funny situational irony the characters can appreciate on an intellectual level while cursing on an "I'm gonna die now" level. The benefit here is that momentum is maintained throughout the scene.

'''Comedy dominant''' works have more leeway here. They may be a straight up comedy or parody set in a typical horror setting or premise, or use BlackComedy along with splatter horror to maximum effect. Comedy dominant works often [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] horror tropes for laughs, other times playing them hilariously straight as an AffectionateParody (with perhaps a LampshadeHanging).

A '''[[LightmareFuel balanced]]''' work is perhaps the most subjective to qualify, because while it has equal amounts of horror and comedy, the viewer may be so sensitive to horror it seems scarier, or so ''de''sensitized to horror it seems funnier.

Of course, these works have one big problem they have to fight: avoiding [[JumpTheShark jumping the shark]] due to MoodWhiplash. Avoiding this requires that the comedy or horror not break the feel of the established setting. Slapstick in the middle of suspenseful horror, or remorselessly and humorlessly killing a character in a comedy would do this. However, [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan snarking]] and RasputinianDeath respectively would not.

See also {{Narm}} and NightmareRetardant, where something that's supposed to be horrible turns out to be funny, and AccidentalNightmareFuel, where something that might have been intended to be funny is instead unsettling. Both of them are results of something landing on the wrong side of the scale. See also LightmareFuel, where a perfect balance is actually reached between the two.

Compare the FirstLawOfTragicomedies.
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!!Some works that mix comedy and horror include:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Horror-Dominant]]
* ''Film/ThirteenSins'' has the hapless protagonist committing more and more horrific crimes for the accumulating prize money.
* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', most notably in the third season ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven Coven]]'', frequently likes to dabble in the campier side of horror, which shouldn't be a surprise given that its creator, Ryan Murphy, also made ''Series/{{Glee}}'', ''Series/NipTuck'', and ''Series/{{Popular}}''. By and large, though, the more horrific elements were played terrifyingly straight.
* ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'' has a fair amount of comedic elements, but tipped to this side because even the director was surprised by how gory it turned out. Also, the humor is almost entirely gone by the conclusion of the movie save some small bits and the SoundtrackDissonance between the final scene and the credits song.
* ''Film/{{Arachnophobia}}'' has several comedic bits, mostly involving the EccentricExterminator played by John Goodman. The PrimalFear of the spider threat is played very seriously all throughout the movie however.
* ''Film/BehindTheMaskTheRiseOfLeslieVernon'' starts out closer to the middle, as a parody of the slasher genre, but very quickly becomes a straight SlasherMovie at the end.
* ''Film/BubbaHoTep''
* ''Film/CabinByTheLake'': The sequel moreso than the first. The VillainProtagonist is a SerialKiller who is also a horror movie writer. There are therefore several self-referential elements than can be taken as parody. The bad guy is still an utter monster, though.
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods''. Despite being a DeconstructiveParody the horror tropes are played very straight in terms of tone; the parody is derived from austere deconstruction without heading into outright comedy. The humorous parts that it does have are mostly derived from the self-reflective aspects of the movie on the horror genre, mostly embodied in the manipulative Controllers.
* ''Film/ChildsPlay'' has been all over the map with this. The first few films were mostly straight horror flicks, albeit with a killer with more personality than the usual masked madman, much like the below-mentioned ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series. ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' and ''Film/SeedOfChucky'', however, were comedy-dominant, while ''Film/CurseOfChucky'' returned to a horror focus.
* ''Series/DeadSet'': Most of the laughs come from the dark absurdity of the premise and the dialogue of the cast, many of whom are UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist types or TheDitz ({{Justified}} by the reality show setting). However, the main character is mostly serious, the premise is PlayedForDrama and once people start dying most of the laughs are in the form of {{Satire}}, BlackComedy, and RefugeInAudacity (zombie Davina [=McCall=]!) rather than the witty dialogue and jokes.
* ''Film/DeathProof''
* ''Film/DrGiggles'' has a villain who is very cartoony and unleashes a HurricaneOfPuns whenever he makes a kill. Despite that, it's a straightforward slasher film.
* ''Film/DragMeToHell'' is a truly scary film, but coming from Creator/SamRaimi, it manages to also be hilarious at times (sometimes at the same time even).
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' tends heavily towards the horror end of things. Most of the comedy is in the form of Harry wisecracking to save in his sanity in the face of soul-destroying horror and almost certain death. His adversaries range from utter bastards to NightmareFuel.
* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' has a few entries landing here:
** ''Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter'' definitely played up the comedy elements, with the TwentyMinutesWithJerks feeling very much like a teen comedy that could easily be called ''National Lampoon's Friday The 13th''. But the deaths are some of the bloodiest in the series, and the ending [[spoiler: when Tommy kills Jason]] is played very seriously (and manages to be genuinely horrifying). This is one of the reasons it remains a fan favorite.
** ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'' is very self-aware of the franchise and has quite a few comedic breaks, but plays many parts much more serious than the rest of the series (especially parts focusing on Tommy), and due to the reduced gore, it relies more on pure suspense (and succeeding).
** ''Film/JasonX'' took the "Jason [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-]" angle and ran with it, most notably when Jason is locked in a holodeck simulating Camp Crystal Lake with two counselors who just ''love'' to [[DeathBySex have premarital sex]].
* ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' gets most of its humor by playing off the interaction of a bunch of hardened gangsters with bloodthirsty vampires.
* ''Film/GetOut2017'' has a fair share of tongue-in-cheek humour and a comic relief character [[spoiler: who actually ends up saving the day]] but the humour is fairly subtle overall. [[Creator/JordanPeele Given the director]], it's surprising the comedy elements aren't played up more.
* ''Film/GingerSnaps'' uses its "lycanthropy/puberty" metaphor as much for laughs as for horror, but when it gets dark, it stays there.
* ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. There are some comedic moments scattered throughout, but it mostly plays the premise straight. Notably, this is toned down from the original conceit, which was a lot darker in tone and contained several very gruesome deaths[[note]]For example, Gizmo would turn from cute Mogwai into a vicious Gremlin and Billy's mother is murdered by the Gremlins, who throw her head at Billy down a flight of stairs[[/note]], with the Gremlins being far more violently evil than their 'cause general disruption' attitude in the movie.
* The ''Film/{{Hatchet}}'' series is a GenreThrowback to '80s slashers, turning all of the tropes of the genre up to their logical conclusion and playing many of them for laughs in the process. The actual killer, however, is played completely straight.
* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' starts off each chapter as a lighthearted SliceOfLife comedy, until someone dies mysteriously. From there, things quickly spiral out of control, usually culminating in the gruesome murder of several major characters.
* ''Literature/{{It}}''. Heavily horror based, but still has some comedic elements thanks to Pennywise.
* ''Film/JennifersBody'' combines a demon-possession plot with Creator/DiabloCody's wiseass dialogue, and a [[RockMeAsmodeus devil-worshipping]] Music/{{emo}} band.
* ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' began to progress into this as the series went on. [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 The first]] [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge two films]] are mostly straight horror films (well, okay, [[HomoeroticSubtext not so straight]] in the case of the second one) with only the occasional wisecracks from Freddy Krueger, [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors the third]] had more of a balance between comedy and horror (but still focusing more on horror), and later films became more comedic as the series went on, to the point where the sixth film, ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' is essentially a somewhat gory cartoon. The seventh film, ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'', [[ShooOutTheClowns jettisoned the comedy elements]] and brought the focus back to horror, a focus that was shared by ''Film/FreddyVsJason'' and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 the remake]].
* ''Franchise/{{Scream}}'' is practically the TropeCodifier for the horror-dominant variety. The comedy comes from the characters lampshading the various horror tropes and being GenreSavvy. But the deaths are still gruesome and the comedy is pretty much [[ShooOutTheClowns shooed out]] in the third act.
* ''Film/TheSignal2007'' is composed of three vignettes. The middle one is mostly a black comedy (mostly) while also showing us the first signs that [[MindScrew things are even weirder than they seem]].
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. The [[WorldOfSnark entire character roster are a bunch of snarky bastards]] who can't resist making wise-ass comments all the time, and the humor is largely found in the absurdity of some deaths and the meta-fictional episodes. It still never manages to upstage the genuine horror and drama or eclipse it.
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''
* ''Film/{{Teeth}}'': The only real humor is the absurd premise and some potential {{Narm}}. All else considered, it's played about as straight as you can get for a killer vagina movie.
* ''Film/YoureNext''. It's a {{Deconstruction}} of many horror tropes, especially the FinalGirl, that happens to be thick with BlackComedy, yet it plays the horror aspects much more straight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comedy-Dominant]]
* ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', the definitive parody of vintage Franchise/UniversalHorror.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' is shockingly dark for a children's series, but still focuses mainly on BlackComedy rather than horror.
* ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' is nearly pure comedy; the only real "horror" aspects it has are those that are ''unavoidable'' when you decide to parody the B-movie horror genre.
* ''Film/BigTitsZombie'', a J-horror flick that slides much more towards the SexComedy genre.
* The original ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' movie.
* Any commercial featuring Advertising/TheBurgerKing.
* ''Film/CarryOnScreaming'', being a ''Film/CarryOn'' film, relies on comedy with a variety of horror movie {{Shout Out}}s. Despite this, it still earned an entry on the ''Series/The100GreatestScaryMoments'' list.
* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' is a ComicFantasy, but it turns out to run on LightmareFuel once Augustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river and faces the threat of being turned into fudge. Adaptations may go LighterAndSofter or DarkerAndEdgier with regards to the tone and look of the story and the fates and personalities of the characters (the darkest version is the [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2013 stage musical]], in which several characters [[UncertainDoom may or may not]] receive DeathByAdaptation and Willy Wonka is AmbiguouslyEvil), but it is always comedy-centric.
* The ''{{Series/Charmed}}'' episode 'Chick Flick' features psycho killers being released from {{Slasher Movie}}s to attack the sisters. The attempts to kill them are played entirely for comedy - as the sisters can't use their powers on the killers, forcing the {{Action Girl}}s to essentially behave like stereotypical {{Distressed Damsel}}s. Piper also has a moment of GenreBlindness.
--> "I get stalked by psycho killers and I hide in the [[{{Film/Psycho}} shower?]]"
* ''Film/ClubDread'', Creator/BrokenLizard's parody of slasher movies by way of Music/JimmyBuffett.
* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is mostly a slapstick comedy cartoon with some added supernatural creepiness.
* ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'', with its intentional pulp-comic style (a GenreThrowback to the Creator/ECComics of the '50s), has many comedic moments, but also manages to have some good horror. The scariest person in the film is played by Creator/LeslieNielsen, who manages to be both funny and scary at the same time.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit''. WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit playing werewolf movie tropes for kid-friendly laughs. The filmmakers billed it as the first "vegetarian horror movie".
* Each installment of the ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' series is mostly comedy with one scene of pure horror plus some mildly creepy imagery, with the exception of the last two, which are closer to the middle of the spectrum.
* ''Literature/DanShambleZombiePI'' is a MonsterMash detective series that makes no secret about it being an excuse for humor.
* ''Film/EightLeggedFreaks'', an AffectionateParody of and GenreThrowback to the [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant insect movies]] of TheFifties.
* ''Film/EvilBong'' is advertised as a "horror/comedy", but is predominately comedy. The sequel, ''Evil Bong 2: King Bong'', isn't even a horror movie, but a combination of fantasy/adventure and stoner comedy.
* ''Franchise/EvilDead'', with ''Film/EvilDead2'' landing somewhere in the middle (but still closer to comedy) and ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'' having few horror elements at all. The [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 first film]] and [[Film/EvilDead2013 the remake]], on the other hand, are straight horror films with next to no comedic elements.
* ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', being a PG-13 homage to 1980s slasher movies, can't become quite as scary or gory as the genre it is parodying by design, so it instead relies on poking fun of various slasher tropes and the DeliberateValuesDissonance of 2010s teens interacting with 1980s teens. It also spends more time focusing on grief and the sadness of the death of one of the characters than the average slasher movie, making this more of a dramady than a pure comedy.
* ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'', both the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} original film]] and the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}} reboot]]. The ghosts are portrayed seriously and often have quite menacing appearances, with the original in particular based on Creator/DanAykroyd's actual research into the paranormal. The human characters, however, are all PlayedForLaughs.
* ''Film/TheGiantClaw'', thanks to the silly Muppet bird!
* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'' is far more comedic than the first movie, even opening with a cartoon intro. It's more an AffectionateParody of monster movies, [[SelfParody including of its own predecessor]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' began as a dark comedy before becoming a pure comedy with some horror elements.
* ''Film/HappyDeathDay'' is a slasher film, but most of the deaths are PlayedForLaughs, and the story centers around the comedic journey of the protagonist from the mean girl meant to die ([[GroundhogDayLoop in her case, a lot]]) to the FinalGirl that draws the audience sympathy.
* ''Film/AHauntedHouse'', a parody of the first ''Film/ParanormalActivity''.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', comedy dominant, but [[MoodWhiplash whiplashes]] so hard you can [[{{MoodWhiplash/Homestuck}} break your neck.]]
* ''Film/HotFuzz''. It's a comedy, but most of the film is an homage to slasher flicks and there are some bona fide [[{{Squick}} gory]] bits in there. It's something of a three-way hybrid, among a Badass Cop movie, Comedy and Slasher. The slasher elements also segue into TownWithADarkSecret.
* ''Film/JackBrooksMonsterSlayer'' has a few very bloody scenes, but the film is played for laughs.
* ''LightNovel/IsThisAZombie''. Heavily on the comedy side.
* ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'', as well as [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors the musical of the same name]], and [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors its 1986 movie version]]. The 1960 film is more of a broad comedy, whereas the musical and the 1986 movie are [[DarkerAndEdgier morality plays, and somewhat darker]].
* ''Podcast/TheMonsterHunters'' is an outright parody of vintage horror. Its genuinely frightening moments are few and far between.
* ''Film/MurderParty'': is a film about a group of homicidal {{Mad Artist}}s who despite being a bunch of insane idiots fancy themselves as criminal masterminds and pure horror material. By the second half of the movie, however the story becomes too twisted and surreal.
* ''Film/MyNameIsBruce''
* ''Film/PromNightIIITheLastKiss'' is even more light-hearted than the previous film, and most of the deaths are played for laughs instead of scares.
* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. Fitting, since it's a parody of B-movies (they even lampshade it in the opening tune). It's remembered more for its sexual innuendoes and homoeroticism than for the horror elements.
* The ''Film/ScaryMovie'' series. Mostly spoofs horror movies, except for some of the more recent sequels which predominately spoof sci-fi movies.
* ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'' is an extremely campy series that, while it can be suitably gory and violent to fill the needs of horror fans, has a shockingly low body count for an entry into the slasher genre, as it spends more time focusing on the snarky comebacks and utter ridiculousness of its characters rather than gore effects.
* ''WebVideo/SexHouse'': It's from ''Website/TheOnion'', so it's to be expected.
* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. The ZombieApocalypse is played almost entirely for laughs. The only real horror comes from when the zombies make their true presence known.
* ''Film/ShriekIfYouKnowWhatIDidLastFridayTheThirteenth''. Predictably, since it's an outright horror spoof.
* ''Series/StanAgainstEvil'' follows much the same formula as Evil Dead. Horrid monsters and violence, with a ton of comedy.
* ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2'' is very comedic compared to [[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 the original]]. Hell, [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3030366208/tt0092076?ref_=tt_ov_i one poster]] has the villains posing exactly like ''Film/TheBreakfastClub''.
* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'': Like ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', the Biblical Apocalypse is strictly played for laughs, with small moments of horror sprinkled in throughout. Yet even these scenes have a punchline to them, including one part where a man getting ''decapitated'' leads to an impromptu game of soccer.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror]]'' are [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] BlackComedy episodes with 3 segments each, usually parodying horror films. However, some segments can be [[NightmareFuel genuinely scary.]]
* ''Film/TuckerAndDaleVsEvil''. It's a straight DeconstructiveParody that flips the HillbillyHorrors genre on its head by making the hillbillies the heroes. Even the most gory deaths are BloodyHilarious and not really played for horror.
* ''Manga/TheVoynichHotel'' has all sorts of unsavoury characters, from demons, witches, and criminals (ranging from: Yakuza, present and past; assassins; and serial killers), and quite a lot of weird natural occurrences on the island to boot, but things are consistently light and funny. [[NightmareFuel Most of]] [[TearJerker the time.]]
* ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''. Even the zombies are mostly PlayedForLaughs, the focus being less on the horror of the ZombieApocalypse and more on the protagonists' displays of badassery and one-liners as they kick the zombies' asses.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Balance of Comedy & Horror]]
* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath''
* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho''
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Although slightly more horror focused than ''Buffy'', ''Angel'' still follows the Joss Whedon blend of horror and comedy.
* ''Film/BadTaste''
* ''Film/{{Braindead}}'', also known as ''Dead Alive''
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': One reason Creator/JossWhedon wanted to do it as a series was that [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the movie]] had been more comedy-dominant than he hoped.
* ''Film/AChineseGhostStory'' has some suspenseful and terrifying moments, and some legitimately hilarious ones.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has slid all over this spectrum as part of its general GenreRoulette nature with some individual seasons being rather unbalanced (Season 22 is heavy on the horror, Season 16 is rather heavy on the comedy) but belongs here overall - partly because of law of averages but mostly because the series is [[LightmareFuel very good at being horrific and hilariously funny simultaneously]] when it's at its best.
* ''Manga/DuskMaidenOfAmnesia'': Bounces back and forth.
* ''Literature/EdenGreen'' contains body horror and mass death, as well as moments of self-effacing [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snark]] from the title character.
* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' has genuinely terrifying BodyHorror and {{Gorn}}, but largely uses those elements for satire or BlackComedy.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'' plays its horror elements surprisingly straight, but it's still ultimately ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', which means that it has plenty of snark and slapstick to go around.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. For a comedic kids show, it can get ''pretty damn terrifying''. Appearances with the main characters are comedy dominant, though appearances with Bill Cipher are horror dominant.
* ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''. Specifically, ''Planet Terror'' is balanced, while ''Death Proof'' is more serious. The film as a whole (including the trailers) plays the Grindhouse conceit mostly for the camp value while retaining a lot of genuine scares.
* ''Film/HelloMaryLouPromNightII'' takes itself far less seriously than its [[Film/PromNight1980 in-name-only predecessor]], and has a much lighter tone. It could be considered a black comedy, however it also has enough genuine terror to split it about 50/50.
* The music of the Music/InsaneClownPosse can at times get downright chilling in its depiction of various horrors. Other times, however, their MonsterClown personas are PlayedForLaughs in songs filled with BloodyHilarious violence.
* ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'' is pretty balanced, and it's not unusual to find comedy and horror on the same page. This is partly because the protagonists seem to use humor as a coping mechanism, and partly due to the sheer ridiculousness of the things they encounter, like the [[MixAndMatchCritters wigmonsters]], or the ghost that possesses an entire fridge full of meat to give itself a corporeal body.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is primarily horror dominant in the earlier parts, but finds a balance between comedy and horror somewhere around the third part, and sticks with it. Each subplot can lean in either direction or MoodWhiplash between the two with little warning. The main exceptions are the final fights of each arc, which are rather universally horror dominated.
* ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'' is largely balanced. The film is played surprisingly straight for such a silly premise which the filmmakers wisely didn't take too seriously. The klowns are very often LaughablyEvil, but the movie keeps some genuine scares for even non-coulrophobes.
* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'': Due to the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist, who walked from the mostly comedic scenes of the newsroom and witness interviews to the mostly horror scenes of investigations and monsters without changing his style one bit.
* ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' is about a DysfunctionalFamily celebrating Christmas who get besieged by the titular Krampus and his minions. The main characters are textbook {{Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist}}s (particularly Howard and Linda, who bear more than a passing resemblance to Burt and Heather Gummer from ''Tremors''), and while the very real threat that the monsters pose is played straight, the fact that said monsters are demonic versions of old-fashioned toys (like Jacks-in-the-box and teddy bears) and Christmas iconography (like gingerbread men and elves) makes it hard to not smile at the sight of them wreaking havoc. The bloodless deaths and PG-13 rating help.
* ''Film/LakePlacid'': It's very tongue-in-cheek for a killer croc film (including such highlights as Creator/BettyWhite cursing at the cops for "mistreating" the crocodile), but not a lot of reviewers seem to have noticed this.
* ''Film/TheMonster'', a silent film starring Creator/LonChaney, is one of the earliest examples of this trope, mixing the geniunely scary MadScientist played by Chaney with the bumbling misadventures of Johnny Goodlittle, who winds up trapped in Chaney's OldDarkHouse.
* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' has a tone leaning more towards horror, but the actual story tends to lend itself more to comedy, as more often than not the ending [[DarkIsNotEvil reveals that there was never an actual threat despite the creepy overtones]].
* ''Film/PlanetTerror'': This one is more comedic and lightheared than its companion ''Film/DeathProof'', with a lot of [[BloodyHilarious hilarious deaths]].
* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' is an AffectionateParody of the Jane Austen classic and so contains many funny re-workings of the original scenes - Darcy's first proposal and subsequent argument with Lizzie is now a kung-fu fight between them for example. But the horror elements are played pretty straight - as the zombies are still quite gruesome and becoming a ZombieInfectee is played for drama rather than comedy.
* ''WebVideo/RedLetterMedia''. Yes, the ''Franchise/StarWars'' reviews. The criticism of the movies itself is funny, but the reviewer is clearly an AxCrazy psychopath who takes you on a tour around his lair several times (there are human bones in his basement) and he kidnaps a woman with clear intent to kill her.
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead''
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''. Of all the Franchise/ScoobyDoo incarnations, this is the one that takes the horror elements most seriously, with the usual [[ScoobyDooHoax criminals in costumes]] gradually being replaced by an AncientConspiracy built around an EldritchAbomination; while at the same time deconstructing many of the series' well-worn tropes for both laughs and drama.
* ''Film/{{Slither}}'', a film about alien brain-slugs turning a bunch of small-town bumpkins into zombies. The graphic gore and visual effects come packaged with jokes about marriage, the characters, and the infection.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'': It starts out fairly light and FanService filled, but gets darker and darker as the story goes on. Despite that, it never gets really gory aside from [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank blood]] and even the more serious villains have occasional moments of levity.
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfTheYouthWhoWentForthToLearnWhatFearWas'': A fairy tale in which the protagonist tries to find out what fear is and is confronted with a lot of creepy events and creatures. Yet, at the same time, his total lack of knowledge about being scared also provides many funny moments.
* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': Mostly the TV series and its [[Film/DemonKnight two]] [[Film/BordelloOfBlood theatrical]] movies, but the stories from Creator/ECComics upon which they are based count too.
* ''Film/{{Tremors}}''. The first film was more horror dominant, but every installment after that struck the balance.
* ''Film/{{Tusk}}''. It's an intentionally ridiculous story based on an intentionally ridiculous premise, but that doesn't stop it from being genuinely creepy and body horror-tastic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a quirky sense of humour not unlike ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', and similarly gets [[NightmareFuel/{{Undertale}} increasingly terrifying]] as you progress. While the neutral and pacifist routes balance the two, the No Mercy route is ''very'' horror dominant.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Unsorted]]
!!!These works still need to be categorized on the sliding scale by people familiar with them. Feel free to do so.
* ''Film/BioZombie''
* ''Film/BlackSheep2007''
* ''Film/BoyEatsGirl''
* ''Film/DanceOfTheDead''
* ''Film/DeadAndDeader''
* ''Film/TheDeadNextDoor''
* ''Film/DeadSnow'': The first film relies more on traditional horror elements...
** ''Film/DeadSnowRedVsDead'': While this sequel cranks up the black comedy significantly.
* Some ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', notably ''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'' and ''Hogfather''
* ''Manga/DororonEnmaKun''
* ''Film/{{Excision}}''
* ''Film/TheFearlessVampireKillers''
* ''Film/{{Fido}}''
* ''Webcomic/FrankieAndStein''
* ''Film/FreshMeat''
* ''Film/{{Frostbite}}''
* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName''
* ''{{Jam}}''
* ''Film/KnightsOfBadassdom''
* ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService''
* ''Film/TheLastCircus''
* ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen''
* ''Manga/LevelE''
* ''Theatre/TheLieutenantOfInishmore''
* ''Film/LifeAfterBeth''
* ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion''
* ''Film/MonsterMan''
* ''Film/NightOfTheLivingBread''
* ''[[Music/BrothaLynchHung Now Eat]]''
* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' combines both elements of SurrealHorror with elements of BlackComedy.
* ''Film/PoultrygeistNightOfTheChickenDead''
* ''Series/{{Psychoville}}''
* ''Film/RareExportsAChristmasTale''
* ''Film/{{Ravenous}}''
* ''Film/ReAnimator''
* ''Series/SantaClaritaDiet''
* ''Film/{{Severance}}''
* ''TabletopGame/SlaIndustries''
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts''
* ''Film/TheatreOfBlood''
* ''Film/TheToxicAvenger''
* ''Film/{{Transylmania}}''
* ''Film/{{Undead}}''
* ''Film/WastingAway'', a zombie film from the zombies' point of view.
* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale''
* ''Manga/YondemasuyAzazelSan''
* Most works by Creator/GarthEnnis.
* Most works by Creator/NeilGaiman too.
[[/folder]]
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[[redirect:HorrorComedy]]

[[redirect:HorrorComedy]]

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->''"I'm a student of both horror and comedy because they're different sides of the same coin: Both are about using emotion to provoke an instinctual, physical response, and if you're lucky, spontaneous evacuation of bodily waste products."''
-->-- '''Ben [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation "Yahtzee"]] Croshaw''', ''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Extra Punctuation]]''

When people think of {{Comedy}}, they rarely associate it with {{Horror}} and vice versa. However, both make great partners in crime together. If they aren't [[CrossesTheLineTwice Crossing The Line Twice]], they're bringing about a SugarApocalypse and [[RunForTheBorder escaping]] to [[RefugeInAudacity Auda City]]. The reason they work so well together is that viewers need "breathers" between nonstop screaming or nonstop laughing, and one can easily segue into the other.

For purposes of this trope, we'll divide Horror and Comedy hybrids into three categories, Horror dominant, Comedy dominant, and balanced.

'''Horror dominant''' works will use comedy as a mood lightener or "breather" from the tension or gore. Characters will crack wise while they're in a safe spot, and have the monster use a BarrierBustingBlow just as they relax. The benefit of this is that just as viewers relax along with the characters, tension is restored along with the scare. Other ways to use comedy in a horror movie is to treat viewers to some funny situational irony the characters can appreciate on an intellectual level while cursing on an "I'm gonna die now" level. The benefit here is that momentum is maintained throughout the scene.

'''Comedy dominant''' works have more leeway here. They may be a straight up comedy or parody set in a typical horror setting or premise, or use BlackComedy along with splatter horror to maximum effect. Comedy dominant works often [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] horror tropes for laughs, other times playing them hilariously straight as an AffectionateParody (with perhaps a LampshadeHanging).

A '''[[LightmareFuel balanced]]''' work is perhaps the most subjective to qualify, because while it has equal amounts of horror and comedy, the viewer may be so sensitive to horror it seems scarier, or so ''de''sensitized to horror it seems funnier.

Of course, these works have one big problem they have to fight: avoiding [[JumpTheShark jumping the shark]] due to MoodWhiplash. Avoiding this requires that the comedy or horror not break the feel of the established setting. Slapstick in the middle of suspenseful horror, or remorselessly and humorlessly killing a character in a comedy would do this. However, [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan snarking]] and RasputinianDeath respectively would not.

See also {{Narm}} and NightmareRetardant, where something that's supposed to be horrible turns out to be funny, and AccidentalNightmareFuel, where something that might have been intended to be funny is instead unsettling. Both of them are results of something landing on the wrong side of the scale. See also LightmareFuel, where a perfect balance is actually reached between the two.

Compare the FirstLawOfTragicomedies.
----
!!Some works that mix comedy and horror include:
[[index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Horror-Dominant]]
* ''Film/ThirteenSins'' has the hapless protagonist committing more and more horrific crimes for the accumulating prize money.
* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', most notably in the third season ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven Coven]]'', frequently likes to dabble in the campier side of horror, which shouldn't be a surprise given that its creator, Ryan Murphy, also made ''Series/{{Glee}}'', ''Series/NipTuck'', and ''Series/{{Popular}}''. By and large, though, the more horrific elements were played terrifyingly straight.
* ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'' has a fair amount of comedic elements, but tipped to this side because even the director was surprised by how gory it turned out. Also, the humor is almost entirely gone by the conclusion of the movie save some small bits and the SoundtrackDissonance between the final scene and the credits song.
* ''Film/{{Arachnophobia}}'' has several comedic bits, mostly involving the EccentricExterminator played by John Goodman. The PrimalFear of the spider threat is played very seriously all throughout the movie however.
* ''Film/BehindTheMaskTheRiseOfLeslieVernon'' starts out closer to the middle, as a parody of the slasher genre, but very quickly becomes a straight SlasherMovie at the end.
* ''Film/BubbaHoTep''
* ''Film/CabinByTheLake'': The sequel moreso than the first. The VillainProtagonist is a SerialKiller who is also a horror movie writer. There are therefore several self-referential elements than can be taken as parody. The bad guy is still an utter monster, though.
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods''. Despite being a DeconstructiveParody the horror tropes are played very straight in terms of tone; the parody is derived from austere deconstruction without heading into outright comedy. The humorous parts that it does have are mostly derived from the self-reflective aspects of the movie on the horror genre, mostly embodied in the manipulative Controllers.
* ''Film/ChildsPlay'' has been all over the map with this. The first few films were mostly straight horror flicks, albeit with a killer with more personality than the usual masked madman, much like the below-mentioned ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series. ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' and ''Film/SeedOfChucky'', however, were comedy-dominant, while ''Film/CurseOfChucky'' returned to a horror focus.
* ''Series/DeadSet'': Most of the laughs come from the dark absurdity of the premise and the dialogue of the cast, many of whom are UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist types or TheDitz ({{Justified}} by the reality show setting). However, the main character is mostly serious, the premise is PlayedForDrama and once people start dying most of the laughs are in the form of {{Satire}}, BlackComedy, and RefugeInAudacity (zombie Davina [=McCall=]!) rather than the witty dialogue and jokes.
* ''Film/DeathProof''
* ''Film/DrGiggles'' has a villain who is very cartoony and unleashes a HurricaneOfPuns whenever he makes a kill. Despite that, it's a straightforward slasher film.
* ''Film/DragMeToHell'' is a truly scary film, but coming from Creator/SamRaimi, it manages to also be hilarious at times (sometimes at the same time even).
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' tends heavily towards the horror end of things. Most of the comedy is in the form of Harry wisecracking to save in his sanity in the face of soul-destroying horror and almost certain death. His adversaries range from utter bastards to NightmareFuel.
* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' has a few entries landing here:
** ''Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter'' definitely played up the comedy elements, with the TwentyMinutesWithJerks feeling very much like a teen comedy that could easily be called ''National Lampoon's Friday The 13th''. But the deaths are some of the bloodiest in the series, and the ending [[spoiler: when Tommy kills Jason]] is played very seriously (and manages to be genuinely horrifying). This is one of the reasons it remains a fan favorite.
** ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'' is very self-aware of the franchise and has quite a few comedic breaks, but plays many parts much more serious than the rest of the series (especially parts focusing on Tommy), and due to the reduced gore, it relies more on pure suspense (and succeeding).
** ''Film/JasonX'' took the "Jason [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-]" angle and ran with it, most notably when Jason is locked in a holodeck simulating Camp Crystal Lake with two counselors who just ''love'' to [[DeathBySex have premarital sex]].
* ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' gets most of its humor by playing off the interaction of a bunch of hardened gangsters with bloodthirsty vampires.
* ''Film/GetOut2017'' has a fair share of tongue-in-cheek humour and a comic relief character [[spoiler: who actually ends up saving the day]] but the humour is fairly subtle overall. [[Creator/JordanPeele Given the director]], it's surprising the comedy elements aren't played up more.
* ''Film/GingerSnaps'' uses its "lycanthropy/puberty" metaphor as much for laughs as for horror, but when it gets dark, it stays there.
* ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. There are some comedic moments scattered throughout, but it mostly plays the premise straight. Notably, this is toned down from the original conceit, which was a lot darker in tone and contained several very gruesome deaths[[note]]For example, Gizmo would turn from cute Mogwai into a vicious Gremlin and Billy's mother is murdered by the Gremlins, who throw her head at Billy down a flight of stairs[[/note]], with the Gremlins being far more violently evil than their 'cause general disruption' attitude in the movie.
* The ''Film/{{Hatchet}}'' series is a GenreThrowback to '80s slashers, turning all of the tropes of the genre up to their logical conclusion and playing many of them for laughs in the process. The actual killer, however, is played completely straight.
* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' starts off each chapter as a lighthearted SliceOfLife comedy, until someone dies mysteriously. From there, things quickly spiral out of control, usually culminating in the gruesome murder of several major characters.
* ''Literature/{{It}}''. Heavily horror based, but still has some comedic elements thanks to Pennywise.
* ''Film/JennifersBody'' combines a demon-possession plot with Creator/DiabloCody's wiseass dialogue, and a [[RockMeAsmodeus devil-worshipping]] Music/{{emo}} band.
* ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' began to progress into this as the series went on. [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 The first]] [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge two films]] are mostly straight horror films (well, okay, [[HomoeroticSubtext not so straight]] in the case of the second one) with only the occasional wisecracks from Freddy Krueger, [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors the third]] had more of a balance between comedy and horror (but still focusing more on horror), and later films became more comedic as the series went on, to the point where the sixth film, ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' is essentially a somewhat gory cartoon. The seventh film, ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'', [[ShooOutTheClowns jettisoned the comedy elements]] and brought the focus back to horror, a focus that was shared by ''Film/FreddyVsJason'' and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 the remake]].
* ''Franchise/{{Scream}}'' is practically the TropeCodifier for the horror-dominant variety. The comedy comes from the characters lampshading the various horror tropes and being GenreSavvy. But the deaths are still gruesome and the comedy is pretty much [[ShooOutTheClowns shooed out]] in the third act.
* ''Film/TheSignal2007'' is composed of three vignettes. The middle one is mostly a black comedy (mostly) while also showing us the first signs that [[MindScrew things are even weirder than they seem]].
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. The [[WorldOfSnark entire character roster are a bunch of snarky bastards]] who can't resist making wise-ass comments all the time, and the humor is largely found in the absurdity of some deaths and the meta-fictional episodes. It still never manages to upstage the genuine horror and drama or eclipse it.
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''
* ''Film/{{Teeth}}'': The only real humor is the absurd premise and some potential {{Narm}}. All else considered, it's played about as straight as you can get for a killer vagina movie.
* ''Film/YoureNext''. It's a {{Deconstruction}} of many horror tropes, especially the FinalGirl, that happens to be thick with BlackComedy, yet it plays the horror aspects much more straight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comedy-Dominant]]
* ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', the definitive parody of vintage Franchise/UniversalHorror.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' is shockingly dark for a children's series, but still focuses mainly on BlackComedy rather than horror.
* ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' is nearly pure comedy; the only real "horror" aspects it has are those that are ''unavoidable'' when you decide to parody the B-movie horror genre.
* ''Film/BigTitsZombie'', a J-horror flick that slides much more towards the SexComedy genre.
* The original ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' movie.
* Any commercial featuring Advertising/TheBurgerKing.
* ''Film/CarryOnScreaming'', being a ''Film/CarryOn'' film, relies on comedy with a variety of horror movie {{Shout Out}}s. Despite this, it still earned an entry on the ''Series/The100GreatestScaryMoments'' list.
* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' is a ComicFantasy, but it turns out to run on LightmareFuel once Augustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river and faces the threat of being turned into fudge. Adaptations may go LighterAndSofter or DarkerAndEdgier with regards to the tone and look of the story and the fates and personalities of the characters (the darkest version is the [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2013 stage musical]], in which several characters [[UncertainDoom may or may not]] receive DeathByAdaptation and Willy Wonka is AmbiguouslyEvil), but it is always comedy-centric.
* The ''{{Series/Charmed}}'' episode 'Chick Flick' features psycho killers being released from {{Slasher Movie}}s to attack the sisters. The attempts to kill them are played entirely for comedy - as the sisters can't use their powers on the killers, forcing the {{Action Girl}}s to essentially behave like stereotypical {{Distressed Damsel}}s. Piper also has a moment of GenreBlindness.
--> "I get stalked by psycho killers and I hide in the [[{{Film/Psycho}} shower?]]"
* ''Film/ClubDread'', Creator/BrokenLizard's parody of slasher movies by way of Music/JimmyBuffett.
* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is mostly a slapstick comedy cartoon with some added supernatural creepiness.
* ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'', with its intentional pulp-comic style (a GenreThrowback to the Creator/ECComics of the '50s), has many comedic moments, but also manages to have some good horror. The scariest person in the film is played by Creator/LeslieNielsen, who manages to be both funny and scary at the same time.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit''. WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit playing werewolf movie tropes for kid-friendly laughs. The filmmakers billed it as the first "vegetarian horror movie".
* Each installment of the ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' series is mostly comedy with one scene of pure horror plus some mildly creepy imagery, with the exception of the last two, which are closer to the middle of the spectrum.
* ''Literature/DanShambleZombiePI'' is a MonsterMash detective series that makes no secret about it being an excuse for humor.
* ''Film/EightLeggedFreaks'', an AffectionateParody of and GenreThrowback to the [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant insect movies]] of TheFifties.
* ''Film/EvilBong'' is advertised as a "horror/comedy", but is predominately comedy. The sequel, ''Evil Bong 2: King Bong'', isn't even a horror movie, but a combination of fantasy/adventure and stoner comedy.
* ''Franchise/EvilDead'', with ''Film/EvilDead2'' landing somewhere in the middle (but still closer to comedy) and ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'' having few horror elements at all. The [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 first film]] and [[Film/EvilDead2013 the remake]], on the other hand, are straight horror films with next to no comedic elements.
* ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', being a PG-13 homage to 1980s slasher movies, can't become quite as scary or gory as the genre it is parodying by design, so it instead relies on poking fun of various slasher tropes and the DeliberateValuesDissonance of 2010s teens interacting with 1980s teens. It also spends more time focusing on grief and the sadness of the death of one of the characters than the average slasher movie, making this more of a dramady than a pure comedy.
* ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'', both the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} original film]] and the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}} reboot]]. The ghosts are portrayed seriously and often have quite menacing appearances, with the original in particular based on Creator/DanAykroyd's actual research into the paranormal. The human characters, however, are all PlayedForLaughs.
* ''Film/TheGiantClaw'', thanks to the silly Muppet bird!
* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'' is far more comedic than the first movie, even opening with a cartoon intro. It's more an AffectionateParody of monster movies, [[SelfParody including of its own predecessor]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' began as a dark comedy before becoming a pure comedy with some horror elements.
* ''Film/HappyDeathDay'' is a slasher film, but most of the deaths are PlayedForLaughs, and the story centers around the comedic journey of the protagonist from the mean girl meant to die ([[GroundhogDayLoop in her case, a lot]]) to the FinalGirl that draws the audience sympathy.
* ''Film/AHauntedHouse'', a parody of the first ''Film/ParanormalActivity''.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', comedy dominant, but [[MoodWhiplash whiplashes]] so hard you can [[{{MoodWhiplash/Homestuck}} break your neck.]]
* ''Film/HotFuzz''. It's a comedy, but most of the film is an homage to slasher flicks and there are some bona fide [[{{Squick}} gory]] bits in there. It's something of a three-way hybrid, among a Badass Cop movie, Comedy and Slasher. The slasher elements also segue into TownWithADarkSecret.
* ''Film/JackBrooksMonsterSlayer'' has a few very bloody scenes, but the film is played for laughs.
* ''LightNovel/IsThisAZombie''. Heavily on the comedy side.
* ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'', as well as [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors the musical of the same name]], and [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors its 1986 movie version]]. The 1960 film is more of a broad comedy, whereas the musical and the 1986 movie are [[DarkerAndEdgier morality plays, and somewhat darker]].
* ''Podcast/TheMonsterHunters'' is an outright parody of vintage horror. Its genuinely frightening moments are few and far between.
* ''Film/MurderParty'': is a film about a group of homicidal {{Mad Artist}}s who despite being a bunch of insane idiots fancy themselves as criminal masterminds and pure horror material. By the second half of the movie, however the story becomes too twisted and surreal.
* ''Film/MyNameIsBruce''
* ''Film/PromNightIIITheLastKiss'' is even more light-hearted than the previous film, and most of the deaths are played for laughs instead of scares.
* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. Fitting, since it's a parody of B-movies (they even lampshade it in the opening tune). It's remembered more for its sexual innuendoes and homoeroticism than for the horror elements.
* The ''Film/ScaryMovie'' series. Mostly spoofs horror movies, except for some of the more recent sequels which predominately spoof sci-fi movies.
* ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'' is an extremely campy series that, while it can be suitably gory and violent to fill the needs of horror fans, has a shockingly low body count for an entry into the slasher genre, as it spends more time focusing on the snarky comebacks and utter ridiculousness of its characters rather than gore effects.
* ''WebVideo/SexHouse'': It's from ''Website/TheOnion'', so it's to be expected.
* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. The ZombieApocalypse is played almost entirely for laughs. The only real horror comes from when the zombies make their true presence known.
* ''Film/ShriekIfYouKnowWhatIDidLastFridayTheThirteenth''. Predictably, since it's an outright horror spoof.
* ''Series/StanAgainstEvil'' follows much the same formula as Evil Dead. Horrid monsters and violence, with a ton of comedy.
* ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2'' is very comedic compared to [[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 the original]]. Hell, [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3030366208/tt0092076?ref_=tt_ov_i one poster]] has the villains posing exactly like ''Film/TheBreakfastClub''.
* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'': Like ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', the Biblical Apocalypse is strictly played for laughs, with small moments of horror sprinkled in throughout. Yet even these scenes have a punchline to them, including one part where a man getting ''decapitated'' leads to an impromptu game of soccer.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror]]'' are [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] BlackComedy episodes with 3 segments each, usually parodying horror films. However, some segments can be [[NightmareFuel genuinely scary.]]
* ''Film/TuckerAndDaleVsEvil''. It's a straight DeconstructiveParody that flips the HillbillyHorrors genre on its head by making the hillbillies the heroes. Even the most gory deaths are BloodyHilarious and not really played for horror.
* ''Manga/TheVoynichHotel'' has all sorts of unsavoury characters, from demons, witches, and criminals (ranging from: Yakuza, present and past; assassins; and serial killers), and quite a lot of weird natural occurrences on the island to boot, but things are consistently light and funny. [[NightmareFuel Most of]] [[TearJerker the time.]]
* ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''. Even the zombies are mostly PlayedForLaughs, the focus being less on the horror of the ZombieApocalypse and more on the protagonists' displays of badassery and one-liners as they kick the zombies' asses.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Balance of Comedy & Horror]]
* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath''
* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho''
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Although slightly more horror focused than ''Buffy'', ''Angel'' still follows the Joss Whedon blend of horror and comedy.
* ''Film/BadTaste''
* ''Film/{{Braindead}}'', also known as ''Dead Alive''
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': One reason Creator/JossWhedon wanted to do it as a series was that [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the movie]] had been more comedy-dominant than he hoped.
* ''Film/AChineseGhostStory'' has some suspenseful and terrifying moments, and some legitimately hilarious ones.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has slid all over this spectrum as part of its general GenreRoulette nature with some individual seasons being rather unbalanced (Season 22 is heavy on the horror, Season 16 is rather heavy on the comedy) but belongs here overall - partly because of law of averages but mostly because the series is [[LightmareFuel very good at being horrific and hilariously funny simultaneously]] when it's at its best.
* ''Manga/DuskMaidenOfAmnesia'': Bounces back and forth.
* ''Literature/EdenGreen'' contains body horror and mass death, as well as moments of self-effacing [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snark]] from the title character.
* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' has genuinely terrifying BodyHorror and {{Gorn}}, but largely uses those elements for satire or BlackComedy.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'' plays its horror elements surprisingly straight, but it's still ultimately ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', which means that it has plenty of snark and slapstick to go around.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. For a comedic kids show, it can get ''pretty damn terrifying''. Appearances with the main characters are comedy dominant, though appearances with Bill Cipher are horror dominant.
* ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''. Specifically, ''Planet Terror'' is balanced, while ''Death Proof'' is more serious. The film as a whole (including the trailers) plays the Grindhouse conceit mostly for the camp value while retaining a lot of genuine scares.
* ''Film/HelloMaryLouPromNightII'' takes itself far less seriously than its [[Film/PromNight1980 in-name-only predecessor]], and has a much lighter tone. It could be considered a black comedy, however it also has enough genuine terror to split it about 50/50.
* The music of the Music/InsaneClownPosse can at times get downright chilling in its depiction of various horrors. Other times, however, their MonsterClown personas are PlayedForLaughs in songs filled with BloodyHilarious violence.
* ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'' is pretty balanced, and it's not unusual to find comedy and horror on the same page. This is partly because the protagonists seem to use humor as a coping mechanism, and partly due to the sheer ridiculousness of the things they encounter, like the [[MixAndMatchCritters wigmonsters]], or the ghost that possesses an entire fridge full of meat to give itself a corporeal body.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is primarily horror dominant in the earlier parts, but finds a balance between comedy and horror somewhere around the third part, and sticks with it. Each subplot can lean in either direction or MoodWhiplash between the two with little warning. The main exceptions are the final fights of each arc, which are rather universally horror dominated.
* ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'' is largely balanced. The film is played surprisingly straight for such a silly premise which the filmmakers wisely didn't take too seriously. The klowns are very often LaughablyEvil, but the movie keeps some genuine scares for even non-coulrophobes.
* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'': Due to the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist, who walked from the mostly comedic scenes of the newsroom and witness interviews to the mostly horror scenes of investigations and monsters without changing his style one bit.
* ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' is about a DysfunctionalFamily celebrating Christmas who get besieged by the titular Krampus and his minions. The main characters are textbook {{Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist}}s (particularly Howard and Linda, who bear more than a passing resemblance to Burt and Heather Gummer from ''Tremors''), and while the very real threat that the monsters pose is played straight, the fact that said monsters are demonic versions of old-fashioned toys (like Jacks-in-the-box and teddy bears) and Christmas iconography (like gingerbread men and elves) makes it hard to not smile at the sight of them wreaking havoc. The bloodless deaths and PG-13 rating help.
* ''Film/LakePlacid'': It's very tongue-in-cheek for a killer croc film (including such highlights as Creator/BettyWhite cursing at the cops for "mistreating" the crocodile), but not a lot of reviewers seem to have noticed this.
* ''Film/TheMonster'', a silent film starring Creator/LonChaney, is one of the earliest examples of this trope, mixing the geniunely scary MadScientist played by Chaney with the bumbling misadventures of Johnny Goodlittle, who winds up trapped in Chaney's OldDarkHouse.
* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' has a tone leaning more towards horror, but the actual story tends to lend itself more to comedy, as more often than not the ending [[DarkIsNotEvil reveals that there was never an actual threat despite the creepy overtones]].
* ''Film/PlanetTerror'': This one is more comedic and lightheared than its companion ''Film/DeathProof'', with a lot of [[BloodyHilarious hilarious deaths]].
* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' is an AffectionateParody of the Jane Austen classic and so contains many funny re-workings of the original scenes - Darcy's first proposal and subsequent argument with Lizzie is now a kung-fu fight between them for example. But the horror elements are played pretty straight - as the zombies are still quite gruesome and becoming a ZombieInfectee is played for drama rather than comedy.
* ''WebVideo/RedLetterMedia''. Yes, the ''Franchise/StarWars'' reviews. The criticism of the movies itself is funny, but the reviewer is clearly an AxCrazy psychopath who takes you on a tour around his lair several times (there are human bones in his basement) and he kidnaps a woman with clear intent to kill her.
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead''
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''. Of all the Franchise/ScoobyDoo incarnations, this is the one that takes the horror elements most seriously, with the usual [[ScoobyDooHoax criminals in costumes]] gradually being replaced by an AncientConspiracy built around an EldritchAbomination; while at the same time deconstructing many of the series' well-worn tropes for both laughs and drama.
* ''Film/{{Slither}}'', a film about alien brain-slugs turning a bunch of small-town bumpkins into zombies. The graphic gore and visual effects come packaged with jokes about marriage, the characters, and the infection.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'': It starts out fairly light and FanService filled, but gets darker and darker as the story goes on. Despite that, it never gets really gory aside from [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank blood]] and even the more serious villains have occasional moments of levity.
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfTheYouthWhoWentForthToLearnWhatFearWas'': A fairy tale in which the protagonist tries to find out what fear is and is confronted with a lot of creepy events and creatures. Yet, at the same time, his total lack of knowledge about being scared also provides many funny moments.
* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': Mostly the TV series and its [[Film/DemonKnight two]] [[Film/BordelloOfBlood theatrical]] movies, but the stories from Creator/ECComics upon which they are based count too.
* ''Film/{{Tremors}}''. The first film was more horror dominant, but every installment after that struck the balance.
* ''Film/{{Tusk}}''. It's an intentionally ridiculous story based on an intentionally ridiculous premise, but that doesn't stop it from being genuinely creepy and body horror-tastic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a quirky sense of humour not unlike ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', and similarly gets [[NightmareFuel/{{Undertale}} increasingly terrifying]] as you progress. While the neutral and pacifist routes balance the two, the No Mercy route is ''very'' horror dominant.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Unsorted]]
!!!These works still need to be categorized on the sliding scale by people familiar with them. Feel free to do so.
* ''Film/BioZombie''
* ''Film/BlackSheep2007''
* ''Film/BoyEatsGirl''
* ''Film/DanceOfTheDead''
* ''Film/DeadAndDeader''
* ''Film/TheDeadNextDoor''
* ''Film/DeadSnow'': The first film relies more on traditional horror elements...
** ''Film/DeadSnowRedVsDead'': While this sequel cranks up the black comedy significantly.
* Some ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', notably ''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'' and ''Hogfather''
* ''Manga/DororonEnmaKun''
* ''Film/{{Excision}}''
* ''Film/TheFearlessVampireKillers''
* ''Film/{{Fido}}''
* ''Webcomic/FrankieAndStein''
* ''Film/FreshMeat''
* ''Film/{{Frostbite}}''
* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName''
* ''{{Jam}}''
* ''Film/KnightsOfBadassdom''
* ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService''
* ''Film/TheLastCircus''
* ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen''
* ''Manga/LevelE''
* ''Theatre/TheLieutenantOfInishmore''
* ''Film/LifeAfterBeth''
* ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion''
* ''Film/MonsterMan''
* ''Film/NightOfTheLivingBread''
* ''[[Music/BrothaLynchHung Now Eat]]''
* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' combines both elements of SurrealHorror with elements of BlackComedy.
* ''Film/PoultrygeistNightOfTheChickenDead''
* ''Series/{{Psychoville}}''
* ''Film/RareExportsAChristmasTale''
* ''Film/{{Ravenous}}''
* ''Film/ReAnimator''
* ''Series/SantaClaritaDiet''
* ''Film/{{Severance}}''
* ''TabletopGame/SlaIndustries''
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts''
* ''Film/TheatreOfBlood''
* ''Film/TheToxicAvenger''
* ''Film/{{Transylmania}}''
* ''Film/{{Undead}}''
* ''Film/WastingAway'', a zombie film from the zombies' point of view.
* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale''
* ''Manga/YondemasuyAzazelSan''
[[/index]]
* Most works by Creator/GarthEnnis.
* Most works by Creator/NeilGaiman too.
[[/folder]]
----

!!Some works that use Comedy and Horror include:

[[folder:Horror Dominant]]

[[folder:Balance Between Comedy and Horror]]

* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath''
* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho''
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Although slightly more horror focused than ''Buffy'', ''Angel'' still follows the Joss Whedon blend of horror and comedy.
* ''Film/BadTaste''
* ''Film/{{Braindead}}'', also known as ''Dead Alive''
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': One reason Creator/JossWhedon wanted to do it as a series was that [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the movie]] had been more comedy-dominant than he hoped.
* ''Film/AChineseGhostStory'' has some suspenseful and terrifying moments, and some legitimately hilarious ones.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has slid all over this spectrum as part of its general GenreRoulette nature with some individual seasons being rather unbalanced (Season 22 is heavy on the horror, Season 16 is rather heavy on the comedy) but belongs here overall - partly because of law of averages but mostly because the series is [[LightmareFuel very good at being horrific and hilariously funny simultaneously]] when it's at its best.
* ''Manga/DuskMaidenOfAmnesia'': Bounces back and forth.
* ''Literature/EdenGreen'' contains body horror and mass death, as well as moments of self-effacing [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snark]] from the title character.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'' plays its horror elements surprisingly straight, but it's still ultimately ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', which means that it has plenty of snark and slapstick to go around.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. For a comedic kids show, it can get ''pretty damn terrifying''. Appearances with the main characters are comedy dominant, though appearances with Bill Cipher are horror dominant.
* ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''. Specifically, ''Planet Terror'' is balanced, while ''Death Proof'' is more serious. The film as a whole (including the trailers) plays the Grindhouse conceit mostly for the camp value while retaining a lot of genuine scares.
* ''Film/HelloMaryLouPromNightII'' takes itself far less seriously than its [[Film/PromNight1980 in-name-only predecessor]], and has a much lighter tone. It could be considered a black comedy, however it also has enough genuine terror to split it about 50/50.
* The music of the Music/InsaneClownPosse can at times get downright chilling in its depiction of various horrors. Other times, however, their MonsterClown personas are PlayedForLaughs in songs filled with BloodyHilarious violence.
* ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'' is pretty balanced, and it's not unusual to find comedy and horror on the same page. This is partly because the protagonists seem to use humor as a coping mechanism, and partly due to the sheer ridiculousness of the things they encounter, like the [[MixAndMatchCritters wigmonsters]], or the ghost that possesses an entire fridge full of meat to give itself a corporeal body.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is primarily horror dominant in the earlier parts, but finds a balance between comedy and horror somewhere around the third part, and sticks with it. Each subplot can lean in either direction or MoodWhiplash between the two with little warning. The main exceptions are the final fights of each arc, which are rather universally horror dominated.
* ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'' is largely balanced. The film is played surprisingly straight for such a silly premise which the filmmakers wisely didn't take too seriously. The klowns are very often LaughablyEvil, but the movie keeps some genuine scares for even non-coulrophobes.
* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'': Due to the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist, who walked from the mostly comedic scenes of the newsroom and witness interviews to the mostly horror scenes of investigations and monsters without changing his style one bit.
* ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' is about a DysfunctionalFamily celebrating Christmas who get besieged by the titular Krampus and his minions. The main characters are textbook {{Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist}}s (particularly Howard and Linda, who bear more than a passing resemblance to Burt and Heather Gummer from ''Tremors''), and while the very real threat that the monsters pose is played straight, the fact that said monsters are demonic versions of old-fashioned toys (like Jacks-in-the-box and teddy bears) and Christmas iconography (like gingerbread men and elves) makes it hard to not smile at the sight of them wreaking havoc. The bloodless deaths and PG-13 rating help.
* ''Film/LakePlacid'': It's very tongue-in-cheek for a killer croc film (including such highlights as Creator/BettyWhite cursing at the cops for "mistreating" the crocodile), but not a lot of reviewers seem to have noticed this.
* ''Film/TheMonster'', a silent film starring Creator/LonChaney, is one of the earliest examples of this trope, mixing the geniunely scary MadScientist played by Chaney with the bumbling misadventures of Johnny Goodlittle, who winds up trapped in Chaney's OldDarkHouse.
* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' has a tone leaning more towards horror, but the actual story tends to lend itself more to comedy, as more often than not the ending [[DarkIsNotEvil reveals that there was never an actual threat despite the creepy overtones]].
* ''Film/PlanetTerror'': This one is more comedic and lightheared than its companion ''Film/DeathProof'', with a lot of [[BloodyHilarious hilarious deaths]].
* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' is an AffectionateParody of the Jane Austen classic and so contains many funny re-workings of the original scenes - Darcy's first proposal and subsequent argument with Lizzie is now a kung-fu fight between them for example. But the horror elements are played pretty straight - as the zombies are still quite gruesome and becoming a ZombieInfectee is played for drama rather than comedy.
* ''WebVideo/RedLetterMedia''. Yes, the ''Franchise/StarWars'' reviews. The criticism of the movies itself is funny, but the reviewer is clearly an AxCrazy psychopath who takes you on a tour around his lair several times (there are human bones in his basement) and he kidnaps a woman with clear intent to kill her.
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead''
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''. Of all the Franchise/ScoobyDoo incarnations, this is the one that takes the horror elements most seriously, with the usual [[ScoobyDooHoax criminals in costumes]] gradually being replaced by an AncientConspiracy built around an EldritchAbomination; while at the same time deconstructing many of the series' well-worn tropes for both laughs and drama.
* ''Film/{{Slither}}'', a film about alien brain-slugs turning a bunch of small-town bumpkins into zombies. The graphic gore and visual effects come packaged with jokes about marriage, the characters, and the infection.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'': It starts out fairly light and FanService filled, but gets darker and darker as the story goes on. Despite that, it never gets really gory aside from [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank blood]] and even the more serious villains have occasional moments of levity.
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfTheYouthWhoWentForthToLearnWhatFearWas'': A fairy tale in which the protagonist tries to find out what fear is and is confronted with a lot of creepy events and creatures. Yet, at the same time, his total lack of knowledge about being scared also provides many funny moments.
* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': Mostly the TV series and its [[Film/DemonKnight two]] [[Film/BordelloOfBlood theatrical]] movies, but the stories from Creator/ECComics upon which they are based count too.
* ''Film/{{Tremors}}''. The first film was more horror dominant, but every installment after that struck the balance.
* ''Film/{{Tusk}}''. It's an intentionally ridiculous story based on an intentionally ridiculous premise, but that doesn't stop it from being genuinely creepy and body horror-tastic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a quirky sense of humour not unlike ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', and similarly gets [[NightmareFuel/{{Undertale}} increasingly terrifying]] as you progress. While the neutral and pacifist routes balance the two, the No Mercy route is ''very'' horror dominant.
* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' has genuinely terrifying BodyHorror and {{Gorn}}, but largely uses those elements for satire or BlackComedy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comedy Dominant]]

* ''Film/MurderParty'': is a film about a group of homicidal [[MadArtist MadArtists]] who despite being a bunch of insane idiots fancy themselves as criminal masterminds and pure horror material. By the second half of the movie, however the story becomes too twisted and surreal .

[[AC:These works still need to be categorized on the sliding scale by people familiar with them. Feel free to do so.]]

* ''Film/DeadSnow'': The first film relies more on traditional horror elements, while the sequel ''Film/DeadSnowRedVsDead'' cranks up the black comedy significantly.

* Most works by Creator/GarthEnnis

* Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale

* ''Film/GetOut'' has a fair share of tongue-in-cheek humour and a comic relief character [[spoiler: who actually ends up saving the day]] but the humour is fairly subtle overall. [[Creator/JordanPeele Given the director]], it's surprising the comedy elements aren't played up more.

* ''{{Psychoville}}''

* ''TheLeagueOfGentlemen''

* ''Film/GetOut'' has a fair share of tongue-in-cheek humour and a comic relief character [[spoiler: who actually ends up saving the day]] but the humour is fairly subtle overall. [[Creator/JordanPeele Given the director]], it's surprising the comedy elements aren't played up more.

* ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', Creator/MelBrooks' parody of Franchise/UniversalHorror.

* ''Film/CarryOnScreaming'', being a ''Film/CarryOn'' film, relies on comedy with a variety of horror movie ShoutOuts. Despite this, it still earned an entry on the ''Series/The100GreatestScaryMoments'' list.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has most of the elements you'd expect from a kids' comedy cartoon, but with some creepy monsters thrown in.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is of the Horror Dominant type. Some lighthearted moments can be found between the MindRape, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, CruelAndUnusualDeath(s), and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': In the same vein as ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' except it has BreakTheCutie instead of MindRape. Furthermore, most of the comedic moments are in the first two episodes, while the rest are predominately horror-focused.

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' starts out pretty campy and light-hearted sort of like your typical modern military shooter, of course most of that is swept under the rug halfway in the game.

* ''Film/{{Tusk}}''