These films exploit the close psychological proximity between screams and laughter. Both are visceral, involuntary reactions. Horror builds an almost unbearable tension, and comedy offers the catharsis, the explosive release. Audiences love this emotional rollercoaster, shifting from pure tension to horror in just a few minutes.
The Haunted House (1921)
Keaton plays a teller at a bank. Unbeknownst to her, the bank manager and his gang plan to break in and hide out in an old house that they have booby-trapped to make it look haunted. After an incident that afternoon Keaton, who has glued all the cash and himself, prevents the theft, however, when the bank owner enters and sees Keaton equipped with a weapon, he assumes he was the one who tried to rob him.
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
It is a 1927 American silent horror film directed by German Expressionist director Paul Leni. An adaptation of the same name black comedy by John Willard from 1922, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charlie Wilder, and Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The film belongs to the category of comedy horror films influenced by Broadway theater plays of the 1920s. Leni’s adaptation of Willard’s work was stirring expressionism and humor, a project for which Leni was positively recognized by critics. His directorial project made this film prominent in the category of “old dark house” films popular from the 1930s to 1950s. The film was among Universal’s first horror productions and is considered the foundation of the Universal school of horror.
On a ruined Hudson River estate, millionaire Cyrus West comes close to death. His greedy family comes around him like “cats around a canary”, driving him insane. West orders his last will and testament to be kept safe and not read until the 20th anniversary of his death. When the designated time rolls around, West’s legal representative, Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall), discovers that a second will has inexplicably appeared in the safe. If the terms of the first will are not met, the second will could be opened. The keeper of the West estate, Mammy Pleasant (Martha Mattox), attaches the second will to the ghost of Cyrus West, an idea that the dumbfounded Crosby rejects.
The exponents of Caligarisme, Expressionism in the extreme, believed that Leni had popularized the conventions of Expressionism, but the film was able to enter American theaters without the baggage of a movement that had spiraled out of control.
The Raven (1963)
The Raven is a 1963 American gothic horror comedy film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of competing sorcerers. The supporting cast consists of Jack Nicholson as the son of Lorre’s character. It was the fifth in the so-called Corman-Poe cycle of 8 films which included adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories produced by Roger Corman and launched by American International Pictures. The film was written by Richard Matheson, based on Poe’s 1845 poem “The Raven.
In the year 1506, the sorcerer Dr. Erasmus Craven grieves over the death of his wife Lenore of over 2 years, much to the discouragement of his daughter, Estelle. One night he is joined by a crow, which appears to be a transformed wizard, Dr. Bedlo. Together they concoct a potion that restores Bedlo to his old human self. Bedlo describes being transformed by the evil Doctor Scarabus in one fight, and both choose to see Scarabus, Bedlo for precise revenge, and Craven to seek the ghost of his wife, which Bedlo apparently saw at Scarabus’ castle.
Eating Raoul (1982)
Paul Bland works in a wine shop and his wife Mary is a nurse who is regularly groped by hospital patients. Paul is fired and the couple are left with little money and fear that they will never be able to realize their dream of opening a restaurant. Paul and Mary sleep in separate beds and despise sex. They reside in an apartment building that often hosts swinger parties, which they detest.
When a drunk swinger wanders into their house and attempts to rape Mary, Paul hits his head with a cast iron skillet, killing him. Believing that no one will miss him, they take his money and put his body in the garbage disposal. After eliminating another swinger in the same way, they recognize that they can generate income by eliminating swingers. A funny horror comedy related to sex and its perversions.
Re-Animator (1985)
Re-Animator is a 1985 American horror comedy film loosely based on HP Lovecraft’s 1922 novel “Herbert West– Reanimator” and directed by Stuart Gordon, The film stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical trainee who has developed a reagent that can reanimate the bodies of the deceased.
At the Medical Institute of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, Herbert West brings his dead teacher, Dr. Hans Gruber, back to life. There are terrible side effects, however, as West says, the dose was too large. West travels to Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts to further his research studies as a medical trainee.
He rents a room from colleague Dan Cain and turns the basement of your house into his workshop. West shows Dan his resuscitation reagent by reviving Dan’s dead feline, Rufus. The feline acts ferociously that night. Dan’s girlfriend Megan Halsey, daughter of the dean of medical school, participates in this experiment and is frightened.
Re-Animator is the movie you need if you love the otherworldly weirdness of HP Lovecraft but thought sometimes the writer needed to take himself a little less seriously. Based on Lovecraft’s ‘Herbert West-Reanimator’, researcher Stuart Gordon’s mad dark comedy is a decidedly dark and insane journey, driven by the performance of Jeffrey Combs as the death-obsessed doctor.
A vision curated by a filmmaker, not an algorithm
In this video I explain our vision
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a funny movie and 1988 American science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by the Chiodo brothers and starring Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, and John Vernon.
Just outside the town of Crescent Cove, Mike Tobacco and his friend Debbie Stone see a strange object falling to Earth. Nearby, farmer Gene Green, thinking it is Halley’s Comet, ventures into the woods to discover the impact site. He comes across a large circus tent-like structure and he and his dog are captured by mystical clown-like aliens.
Mike and Debbie, entering the structure, find an intricate interior with unusual spaces and finally understand that it is a spaceship. They discover a gelatinous green encased in a cotton candy-like cocoon and are identified by a klown, who shoots popcorn at them from a bazooka-like weapon and then chases them along with another who uses a dog as a living balloon.
It is the only film composed and directed by the Chiodo brothers, who also developed the special effects and makeup. It tells of a group of evil extraterrestrials that look like clowns. The movie works well because it’s patently absurd but the filmmakers are totally dedicated to that absurdity. It’s not a scary horror film, it’s funny and manages to offer exceptionally innovative images based on the clown and the circus theme: he is the King of B movie from the 80s.
A Bucket of Blood
Comedy, Crime, by Roger Corman, United States, 1959.
Produced on a budget of $ 50,000, it was shot in five days by low-budget B movie king Roger Corman. One night, after hearing the words of Maxwell H. Brock, a poet who performs at The Yellow Door cafe, the obtuse waiter Walter Paisley returns home to try to create a sculpture of the face of the hostess Carla, but accidentally kills the cat. Instead of giving the animal a proper burial, Walter covers the cat with clay, leaving the knife stuck inside. The next morning Walter shows the cat to Carla and her boss Leonard. Carla is enthusiastic about the work and convinces Leonard to exhibit it in his bar. Walter receives praise from Will and the other beatniks in the cafe.
Food for thought
Art kills and hands real life over to immortality. What are the characters of a film, a painting or a sculpture if not non-human crystallizations, theorems and representations of people we have seen, heard, dreamed, met in real life?
LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese
They Live (1988)
A biting sci-fi horror comedy and scathing critique of capitalist culture, it’s one of the movies you must see absolutely if you haven’t already. The comedy element is not the main aspect here, but there are several funny scenes. In They Live, one of the best dystopian movies ever made, the director John Carpenter shows us the occult power of the media.
Roddy Piper plays Nada, a drifter who discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world as it is: run by monstrous zombies with subliminal messages that hypnotize people into bowing down to the god of money and being dominated by an alien species who wants world power. Among the various funny scenes one of the most famous fist fights of all time bwas etween Piper and Keith David.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
An elderly man at The Shady Rest Retirement Home in East Texas is named Sebastian Haff, however, he claims to be Elvis Presley. He says that throughout the 1970s he grew tired of the demands of his popularity and was replaced by an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff; states that it was Haff who died in 1977, while he lived in peaceful and happy privacy and made a living pretending to be himself. After an explosion damaged the documents that were the only proof that he was actually Elvis, he was unable to return to his old life. He falls into a coma after injuring himself at a concert.
A comedy that comes from Bruce Campbell’s thoughtful Elvis in a moving meditation on old age and the vagaries of popularity. Campbell’s Elvis is one of the King of Rock’s best performances yet. The film is appreciated for its extravagant audacity, its out-of-place humor, and is moving for the intensity of these 2 old men and their situation. When you cast horror-comedy veteran Bruce Campbell to play the aging King of Rock and Roll and veteran actor Ossie Davis to play JFK, who team up to take down a soul-sucking mummy, you know you could make a pretty absurd horror comedy. and different from anything already seen.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
The film is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. The film stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek.
The film tells the story of 3 vampires – Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) – who live together, quarrel, and seek new targets. The tale remains focused on the ordinary parts of life as a vampire. Instead of focusing on the thrilling facets of vampire movies, we see our main characters reevaluate what it means to live for life, seek out and find long-lost love, and get caught up on all the latest tech fads.
There are some really disgusting and worrying minutes but it’s a film ready to overturn the clichés of a vampire. Smarter, fresher, and funnier than a contemporary vampire movie, the movie is a lot of fun, defined as the best comedy of 2014 by English critics.
The Final Girls (2015)
Max Cartwright waits as his actress mom, Amanda, auditions for a film. When she returns, Amanda laments that she will simply be called the scream queen Nancy in the 1986 slasher film Camp Bloodbath, a cult classic. On the ride home, the two get into a car accident and Amanda dies. 3 years later, on the anniversary of his mother’s death, Max is studying with his friends Gertie and Chris.
Gertie’s half-brother Duncan, a horror movie fanatic, persuades Max to go to a double screening of Camp Bloodbath 1 and 2. At the screening, Max discovers Vicki, Chris’ possessive ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend. During the screening, the cinema hall catches fire. To reach safety, Max punches a hole in the screen and goes through it with friends. Max, Chris, Gertie, Duncan and Vicki find themselves in the woods: the group discovers they are in a time loop and have somehow been transported into the film.
A heartfelt dramatization of the mother-daughter bond using a fun slasher horror style. Cutting-edge, funny, and even touching, this film finds a new language in the indie horror category, taking us directly into the world of the best 80s teen slasher films. The killings are merciless, the laughs are plentiful, and the little dramatic snippets work too, making The Last Women a must-see horror comedy.
Little Shop of Horrors
Horror, by Roger Corman, United States, 1960.
The brilliant Roger Corman, director and producer who has often worked with ridiculous budgets, allowing the debut of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Joe Dante, makes the film where his style is more recognizable. A budget of 30 thousand dollars, the exploitation of an existing scenography, two days of shooting, an unprecedented contamination between noir, comedy, horror, surreal and grotesque. Seymour is a shy and clumsy boy, oppressed by a hypochondriac mother, who works as a boy in Mr. Mushnick's flower shop, located in the slums of New York, frequented by rather odd people; his life seems to change for the better when he begins to devote himself lovingly to a strange plant, which he calls the same name as the girl he is in love with. But the plant is not interested in her manure, it just likes human blood. Inspired by the 1932 short story Green Thoughts.
LANGUAGE: english
SUBTITLES: italian, spanish
The Love Witch (2016)
Elaine, a gorgeous young witch, is driving to Arcata, California, a town where witchcraft is accepted, to start a new life after the death of her husband Jerry. Maybe Elaine could have killed him. When there, he rents a Victorian house owned by Elaine’s teacher, Barbara, and furnished by her interior decorator, Trish Manning.
In an attempt to befriend the girl, Trish takes Elaine to a teahouse, where she meets her husband Richard, who quickly falls in love with Elaine. Wanting to find a new lover, Elaine performs a ritual to discover one and meets Wayne, a literature teacher at the college. The two travel to Wayne’s house, where she makes him consume a concoction that includes hallucinogens.
When the two make love, Wayne ends up possessive, which makes Elaine anxious. He dies the next day, and Elaine buries his body with an amulet against witchcraft that contains his urine. She decides the next man she will try to seduce will be Richard because he is married and cannot be possessive.
Anna Biller’s The Love Witch differs from any other recent horror comedy. The film leans heavily on its wonderful 60s-style cinematography, which has the power to recall Dario Argento’s films in some scenes. There is a beauty of the look that Anna Biller has built in all its technicolor splendor that immediately casts a spell on you. The Love Witch takes care of being both dark and light, it is a movie about a witch with some really wonderful and ironic lines thanks to the perfect actress for the story, Samantha Robinson.
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun is a twenty-nine-year-old whose life is stuck in a monotonous routine between a dead-end job and his favorite pub, the Winchester. When his girlfriend dumps him, he decides to get his life back on track, but his plans are interrupted by a zombie apocalypse. Armed with a cricket bat, Shaun must transform into an unlikely hero to save his loved ones and, hopefully, win back his love.
Affectionately dubbed a “rom-zom-com” (romantic zombie comedy), Edgar Wright’s masterpiece is much more than a simple parody. It’s a sharp critique of modern life, where the line between an apathetic London commuter and a walking dead is dangerously thin. The film suggests that the real horror isn’t the apocalypse, but the stagnation of a purposeless life. The zombie horde thus becomes the necessary catalyst for Shaun’s growth, forcing him to break out of his lethargy to protect what he loves. Wright’s kinetic directing style, full of quick cuts and visual humor, transforms a simple survival story into a moving and intelligent coming-of-age tale disguised as a horror comedy.
Evil Dead II
Ash Williams, the sole survivor of a previous demonic massacre, returns to the same remote cabin in the woods with his girlfriend, Linda. When he plays a tape reciting passages from the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead, he once again unleashes the forces of evil. With Linda possessed and his own hand rebelling against him, Ash is forced to fight a legion of the damned, transforming into the grooviest and deadliest hero in horror cinema history.
Evil Dead II is not a simple sequel; it’s a reinvention that codified an entire subgenre: “splatstick,” the perfect fusion of splatter horror and slapstick comedy. Abandoning the darker tones of its predecessor, director Sam Raimi dives into an orgy of low-budget creativity, where every scene is an explosion of surreal energy. Bruce Campbell’s performance is legendary, a mix of Charlie Chaplin and The Three Stooges dropped into a Lovecraftian nightmare. Ash’s madness is not only terrifying but also hilarious, and the film masterfully intertwines laughter and insanity. The famous possessed hand scene is a masterpiece of physical comedy born from pure body horror, demonstrating how budget limitations can fuel radical innovation and define a new cinematic language.
Dead Alive (Braindead)
In 1950s New Zealand, the mild-mannered Lionel lives under the thumb of his oppressive mother, Vera. His life is turned upside down when, while spying on her son’s date at the zoo, Vera is bitten by a rare and monstrous Sumatran rat-monkey. She dies only to rise again as a ravenous zombie, kicking off an undead epidemic that Lionel desperately tries to hide, with increasingly chaotic and bloody results.
Before transporting us to Middle-earth, Peter Jackson gave us what is considered one of the bloodiest and funniest films of all time. Dead Alive (known as Braindead outside North America) is the pinnacle of splatter cinema, a work that uses gore in such excessive quantities that it transcends horror and becomes pure farcical comedy. The film’s logic is that of a Looney Tunes cartoon, but with gallons of fake blood. The gore is not an end in itself; it is a metaphorical representation of the total destruction of the domestic and psychological repression Lionel endures. The escalation of violence, culminating in the iconic lawnmower scene, is directly proportional to the protagonist’s liberation from maternal control, making the film a surprising Freudian comedy disguised as a bloodbath.
The Return of the Living Dead
In a medical supply warehouse, two clumsy employees accidentally release a toxic military gas, Trioxin, which has the power to reanimate the dead. The gas spreads through the air and, via acid rain, awakens the corpses in a nearby cemetery. A group of punk kids, who were there to hang out, find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse unlike any other ever seen before.
This film redefined the rules of the game. If George A. Romero created the modern zombie, Dan O’Bannon gave it a punk-rock personality. The Return of the Living Dead introduces for the first time concepts that have become iconic: zombies that run, that are almost invulnerable (not even a shot to the head stops them), and, above all, that crave “brains”. But the most radical innovation is giving the dead a voice and a motivation. In a memorable scene, a captured zombie explains that eating brains alleviates the excruciating pain of being a decaying corpse. This revelation adds a tragic and existential dimension to the horror, turning the monsters into almost compassionate figures. The film is a biting satire that targets military incompetence and youth culture, a cult classic that is as scary as it is hilarious.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Tucker and Dale are two simple, good-hearted country buddies who have just bought their vacation cabin in the woods. Their peace is interrupted by a group of prejudiced college students who, due to a series of misunderstandings and unfortunate accidents, mistake them for two ruthless psychopathic killers. Every attempt by Tucker and Dale to help the kids turns into a gruesome and accidental death, increasing the panic and the body count.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a brilliant and affectionate subversion of the “cabin in the woods slasher” subgenre. Its comedy is not based on jokes, but entirely on the discrepancy of perspectives. The film shows us the events from both the point of view of the two innocent hillbillies and that of the terrified kids, whose paranoia, fueled by decades of cinematic clichés, leads them to conclusions as wrong as they are fatal. The real “evil” of the title is not Tucker and Dale, but prejudice itself. It is a sharp social critique on how quickly we judge appearances and the disastrous consequences of classism. With charismatic performances and a surprisingly big heart, the film shows that sometimes the scariest monster is the one we create in our own minds.
What We Do in the Shadows
A documentary crew follows the nightlife of Viago, Deacon, Vladislav, and Petyr, four ancient vampires who share a flat in modern-day Wellington, New Zealand. The cameras capture their daily struggles: from paying rent and dividing chores to trying to get into nightclubs and dealing with the complexities of immortal relationships, including conflicts with a local werewolf pack.
The genius of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement lies in applying the mockumentary format to a gothic myth, completely demystifying it. What We Do in the Shadows strips vampires of their aura of terror and romance, revealing them for what they are: roommates as mundane, insecure, and pathetic as any human being. The comedy arises from the contrast between the supernatural (sucking a victim’s blood) and the mundane (arguing over who has to wash the bloody dishes). The film is an affectionate tribute to the genre’s clichés, but also a universal story about friendship and the difficulty of adapting to a changing world, even when you’re immortal.
One Cut of the Dead
The film opens with a 37-minute single take showing a low-budget film crew shooting a zombie movie in an abandoned factory, when they are attacked by real undead. After the credits, the narrative jumps back one month to tell the story of how this ambitious and chaotic project for a live television broadcast was born and executed, amidst drunk actors, technical problems, and brilliant improvisations.
One Cut of the Dead is a cinematic experience that requires trust and patience, but it rewards the viewer with one of the most joyous and intelligent endings in recent cinema. The first part of the film is deliberately clumsy, full of awkward acting and bizarre moments. It is only in the third part that the film reveals its true genius: every “mistake” of the first act is revealed to be the result of heroic and comical improvisation behind the scenes. It is not just a film about zombies; it is a love letter to independent cinema, a celebration of the passion, creativity, and team spirit needed to overcome every obstacle and create something magical. The film shows that true art lies not in perfection, but in the heart and ingenuity of those who create it.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
In a world where slasher icons like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers are real historical figures, a documentary crew follows Leslie Vernon, an aspiring serial killer. Leslie, charming and meticulous, reveals all the tricks of the trade: how to choose the “final girl,” how to create a supernatural aura, and the importance of good cardio to be able to walk slowly while the victims run. But when the night of the massacre begins, the line between observers and participants becomes dangerously thin.
Before The Cabin in the Woods, Behind the Mask deconstructed the slasher genre with unique intelligence and black humor. The film demystifies the figure of the killer, transforming him from a force of nature into a meticulous craftsman of terror. Leslie is not a monster, but a performer who orchestrates his legend with the precision of a director. This revelation makes our fascination with slasher violence much more disturbing. If the killer is just a man following a script, then we, as the audience, become accomplices in his show. The film’s brilliant style shift, from mockumentary to a traditional horror film in the finale, pulls us into the story, forcing us to confront our role as voyeurs.
The Final Girls
Max is a girl still processing the tragic death of her mother, an actress famous for her role as a “scream queen” in the ’80s cult slasher film, Camp Bloodbath. During a special screening of the film, a fire breaks out in the cinema, and Max and her friends escape by cutting through the screen. They find themselves magically transported inside the film itself, forced to join forces with the stereotypical camp characters, including the fictional version of her mother, to survive the masked killer.
Unlike other slasher parodies, The Final Girls possesses a powerful and unexpected emotional heart. The film uses the rigid and repetitive structure of a horror film as a metaphor for trauma and grief. For Max, being trapped in Camp Bloodbath is not just a fight for survival, but a surreal opportunity to reconnect with her mother and find closure. The rules of the genre (the virgin survives, sex leads to death) become emotional obstacles to overcome. The film explores the concept of the “Final Girl” not just as a cliché, but as a role that requires sacrifice, turning a meta-cinematic analysis into a touching story about love, loss, and family bonds.
Jennifer’s Body
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Jennifer Check, the most popular girl in high school, is sacrificed to Satan by an indie rock band seeking success. The ritual goes wrong because Jennifer is not a virgin, and she transforms into a demonic succubus who must feed on human flesh to stay beautiful and strong. Her favorite victims are the boys at school. Her best friend, the insecure Needy, is the only one who understands what is happening and must find a way to stop her murderous rampage.
Initially panned by critics, Jennifer’s Body has been re-evaluated over time as a cult classic of feminist horror cinema. Written by Diablo Cody, the film is a sharp allegory of how patriarchal society “consumes” young women, turning their trauma into a monstrous and weaponized form of sexuality. Jennifer’s transformation into a literal “man-eater” is a direct consequence of the male violence she suffered. The film brilliantly subverts the “male gaze,” presenting boys as sexualized and vulnerable victims, and analyzes the toxic and almost homoerotic complexity of female adolescent friendship. It is an intelligent horror comedy, rich with sharp dialogue and a deeply angry subtext.
Attack the Block
During Guy Fawkes Night in South London, a nurse named Sam is robbed by a gang of teenagers from a council estate. The assault is interrupted by a falling meteorite carrying a small alien creature. The gang kills it, but soon discovers they have attracted the attention of a much larger, fiercer, and more lethal alien race. The boys, along with Sam, must defend their “block” from the invasion.
Attack the Block is an explosive mix of science fiction, action, horror, and sharp social critique. The film subverts stereotypes about youth from council estates, turning those labeled by society as “thugs” into the only heroes capable of protecting their community. The film’s genius lies in reversing the trope of the “alien as Other.” For these kids, already marginalized and harassed by police and poverty, the aliens are just another oppressive force sent by the establishment to eliminate them. By forcing the audience to root for its anti-heroes, the film performs a powerful act of empathy, offering a fresh and necessary perspective on the alien invasion genre.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
A group of rich, perpetually online twenty-somethings throws a “hurricane party” at an isolated mansion. To pass the time, they decide to play “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” a murder mystery role-playing game. But when one of them is found dead for real, the game turns into a nightmare. With the power out and no internet connection, paranoia runs rampant, and the group disintegrates into a whirlwind of accusations, recriminations, and violence, all seasoned with social media jargon and pop psychology concepts.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a sharp and ruthless satire of Generation Z and toxic social media culture. It’s a classic “whodunnit” filtered through a contemporary lens, where the horror comes not from an external monster, but from the paranoia and narcissism of the protagonists. The real killer is not a murderer hiding among them, but their own group dynamic, poisoned by social performance and an inability to communicate authentically. The brilliant and ironic ending is the final punchline of a cruel joke about our era, proving that sometimes the greatest horror is the one we inflict upon ourselves.
Slither
A meteorite crashes near the sleepy town of Wheelsy, South Carolina, bringing with it a malevolent alien parasite. The creature infects Grant Grant, a wealthy local resident, progressively transforming him into a tentacled abomination. As his body mutates, his alien mind plans to assimilate all life on the planet, but he retains a twisted obsession: his love for his wife, Starla.
In his directorial debut, James Gunn delivers an affectionate and disgusting homage to the B-movies and “creature features” of the ’80s. Slither is a celebration of body horror, black humor, and gore, realized with exceptional practical effects. But beneath the layer of slime and viscera, the film hides a surprisingly touching story about a marriage in crisis and toxic love. Grant’s transformation is a grotesque metaphor for his jealousy and desire for control. His pursuit of Starla is not just that of a monster chasing a victim, but of a deformed husband desperately wanting to be loved, making the central conflict a bizarre and terrifying love story.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
One night, in a small American town, a bright object falls from the sky. It’s not a meteorite, but a space circus tent. From it emerges a race of aliens that look like grotesque clowns. Armed with guns that shoot lethal popcorn, acid pies, and cotton candy cocoons, the “Klowns” begin to claim victims among the inhabitants, turning the town into a circus nightmare.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the essence of an ’80s cult movie: a crazy idea executed with unbridled imagination and a limited budget. Its timeless appeal lies in its ability to turn circus iconography into an arsenal of death. Every element associated with childhood joy – balloons, puppets, cotton candy – is perverted into a tool of terror. The film masterfully plays on coulrophobia (the fear of clowns), exploiting the inherent creepiness of their smiling masks. It never takes itself seriously, and it is precisely this shamelessly bizarre and colorful nature that makes it an unforgettable and genuinely fun experience.
Bubba Ho-Tep
In an East Texas nursing home, an elderly man claims to be the real Elvis Presley, having swapped identities with an impersonator years ago. His only friend is a Black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy, who survived the assassination attempt and was abandoned there. Together, they discover that a reanimated Egyptian mummy, dressed as a cowboy and nicknamed “Bubba Ho-Tep,” is stealing the souls of the other residents. They decide to confront it in one last, heroic battle.
Behind a delirious B-movie premise, Bubba Ho-Tep hides one of the most touching and melancholic reflections on aging, regret, and the search for dignity. The real horror of the film is not the mummy, but obsolescence, the fear of being forgotten and dying without leaving a mark. The battle against Bubba Ho-Tep is a catalyst that allows two fallen icons to reclaim their identity and worth. Bruce Campbell’s extraordinary performance as a tired and vulnerable Elvis gives the film an unexpected emotional depth, making it a unique work, halfway between absurd comedy and existential drama.
John Dies at the End
Two slacker friends, David and John, come into contact with a new street drug called “Soy Sauce.” The substance not only causes hallucinations but also opens doors to other dimensions and grants psychic abilities. Soon, the two realize they are at the center of a silent and surreal alien invasion, and they are the only ones who can see it. Between monsters made of meat, interdimensional parasites, and time travel, they must try to save the world, or at least try.
Directed by the master of the bizarre, Don Coscarelli, John Dies at the End is a chaotic and unpredictable cinematic experience that tries to simulate the feeling of a cosmic horror experience. Instead of showing the unknowable, the film immerses the viewer in a state of constant disorientation through a non-linear narrative, absurd humor, and unreliable characters. It’s a film that doesn’t care about making logical sense, but about conveying the vertigo of a universe that is much stranger and more terrifying than we can imagine. A psychedelic and fun journey to the edge of reality.
Bad Taste
The inhabitants of the quiet coastal town of Kaihoro, New Zealand, have all disappeared. A four-man government paramilitary team, called AIDS (Astro Investigation and Defence Service), is sent to investigate. They discover that the town has been invaded by aliens who are harvesting human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain. A bloody and absurd battle for the survival of the planet ensues.
Made by a very young Peter Jackson and his friends over weekends for four years, Bad Taste is a monument to DIY independent cinema. It is a raw, amateurish, and absolutely insane film, but its energy and passion are contagious. The humor is grotesque, the splatter special effects are ingenious (many made in Jackson’s mother’s oven), and the plot is deliberately ridiculous. The film never takes itself seriously, and it is precisely this ramshackle and anarchic nature that constitutes its charm. It is proof that to make great cinema you don’t need million-dollar budgets, but a camera, a few friends, and an industrial amount of bad taste.
Housebound
Kylie, a young woman with a criminal record, is sentenced to eight months of house arrest at her chatty and somewhat nagging mother’s house. The forced cohabitation is already a nightmare, but the situation worsens when Kylie becomes convinced that the house is haunted. Initially skeptical, a series of unexplained events force her to investigate the dark past of her domestic prison, with the help of a paranormal-loving security officer.
Housebound is a New Zealand horror-comedy that brilliantly plays with the clichés of the haunted house and slasher genres, subverting them at every turn. The film is as scary as it is hilarious, with a protagonist, Kylie, who is the opposite of the typical “scream queen”: she is grumpy, aggressive, and not easily frightened. The real strength of the film lies in the dynamic between her and her mother, a dysfunctional relationship that generates much of the comedy. With a smart script full of twists, Housebound is a perfect balance of thrills and laughs.
Deathgasm
Brodie, an outcast metalhead teenager, moves to a small, conservative town to live with his aunt and uncle. There he meets Zakk, another metalhead, and together they form a band, DEATHGASM. One day, they get their hands on a mysterious musical score that, according to legend, can summon a supreme power. By playing it, they unwittingly unleash an ancient demonic entity that turns the town’s inhabitants into bloodthirsty monsters. Now it’s up to them and their friends to stop the apocalypse with guitars and improvised weapons.
Deathgasm is a wild and bloody love letter to the world of heavy metal and splatter cinema. It’s the musical equivalent of Evil Dead‘s Necronomicon: play the forbidden music and unleash hell. The film is vulgar, over-the-top, and incredibly fun, with humor that stems from the authenticity of metal culture and a level of gore that would make Peter Jackson envious. Between fights with dildos and decapitations to the rhythm of blast beats, Deathgasm is an explosion of pure energy, a film made by fans for fans, celebrating brotherhood, rebellion, and the saving (and destructive) power of metal.
Black Sheep
![Black Sheep | Official Trailer [4K]](https://blog.indiecinema.co/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FyHLDaupMK_c%2F0.jpg)
Henry Oldfield returns to his family farm in New Zealand, terrified of sheep due to a childhood trauma. He is there to sell his share to his older brother Angus, who is conducting reckless genetic experiments to create the perfect sheep. When two environmental activists accidentally release a mutant lamb, they unleash an epidemic that turns thousands of docile sheep into carnivorous predators. Worse, a bite can also turn humans into monstrous half-man, half-sheep creatures.
This New Zealand horror-comedy takes the national icon – the sheep – and turns it into a bloody nightmare. Black Sheep is a fun and grotesque ode to monster movies, with practical special effects created by Weta Workshop (the same team behind The Lord of the Rings). The film plays with the tropes of genetic engineering gone wrong and lycanthropy, but with an absurdly “Kiwi” touch. The result is a splatter film that is as ridiculous as it is effective in mixing laughter and gore, proving that even the most harmless animal can become a terrifying killing machine.
Grabbers
Garda Ciarán O’Shea, an alcoholic policeman, and his new, by-the-book partner, Lisa Nolan, are stationed on a remote Irish island. Their routine is disrupted by the discovery of mysterious, bloodthirsty tentacled creatures emerging from the sea. After the town drunk inexplicably survives an attack, the group realizes the monsters’ weakness: they can’t tolerate alcohol in their victims’ blood. Their only hope for survival is to gather all the inhabitants in the local pub and get completely drunk.
Grabbers is a delightful Irish horror-comedy that takes a national stereotype and turns it into a brilliant plot device. It’s a classic “creature feature” with a siege setup, but with a touch of typically Irish humor reminiscent of shows like Father Ted. The characters are charming, the monsters are surprisingly well-made, and the premise is as absurd as it is irresistible. The film manages to be scary and funny at the same time, celebrating pub culture and the idea that sometimes, the solution to the biggest problems can be found at the bottom of a pint.
Murder Party
On Halloween night, Chris, a lonely and somewhat hapless man, finds an invitation on the street for a “Murder Party.” Thinking it’s a themed costume party, he builds himself a cardboard knight costume and shows up at the indicated address, an isolated loft in Brooklyn. There he discovers he is the guest of honor for a collective of pretentious artists who plan to kill him as part of an art performance to get a grant. But the group is as arrogant as they are incompetent, and the evening turns into a chaotic and unexpected bloodbath.
Jeremy Saulnier’s (Blue Ruin, Green Room) directorial debut is a low-budget horror-comedy, shot almost entirely in a single location, that serves as a fierce satire of the contemporary art world. The humor arises from the absurdity of the situation and the ineptitude of the kidnappers, whose internal rivalries and insecurities lead to deadly consequences. The film is a lesson in how to create tension and comedy with minimal resources, turning a simple premise into an intelligent, cynical, and brutally funny splatter work.
Cooties
A mysterious virus, transmitted through contaminated chicken nuggets, strikes an isolated elementary school. The virus turns the children into a horde of savage and ferocious carnivorous zombies, but it only affects those who have not yet reached puberty. A group of dysfunctional teachers, including a failed writer, a kind-hearted teacher, and an egocentric gym teacher, find themselves trapped in the building and must join forces to survive their small and monstrous students.
Cooties takes a childhood concept – the fear of “cooties” – and turns it into the premise for a hilarious and bloody zombie comedy. The film draws its comedy from the contrast between the primal threat posed by the zombie children and the adult neuroses and petty rivalries of the teaching staff. With a cast of top-notch comedic actors, the film offers a mix of gore, sharp jokes, and absurd situations, proving that there is nothing more terrifying than a horde of fourth-graders who literally want to eat you alive.
Werewolves Within
Finn, a good-hearted forest ranger, is assigned to the small, divided town of Beaverfield, Vermont. A snowstorm isolates the town, forcing a diverse group of residents to take shelter in the local inn. When a mysterious creature begins to kill them one by one, panic spreads. They soon realize that a werewolf is hiding among them, and everyone is a suspect. Finn must overcome his accommodating nature to find out who the monster is before everyone becomes its next meal.
Based on the video game of the same name, Werewolves Within is an excellent horror-comedy that functions as a classic Agatha Christie-style “whodunnit,” but with a furry monster instead of a murderer. The film is an intelligent satire on polarization and the fragility of community. The humor stems from the cast of eccentric characters and their interactions, as paranoia and mutual distrust prove to be as dangerous as the beast hunting them. It’s a film that perfectly captures the feeling of playing a social deduction game, full of suspense, laughter, and a surprisingly timely message about the importance of staying united.
Anna and the Apocalypse
In the sleepy town of Little Haven, Scotland, it’s almost Christmas. Anna and her high school friends are dealing with typical teenage problems: unrequited love, dreams for the future, and difficult relationships with their parents. But when they wake up one morning, they discover their town has been overrun by a horde of zombies. Armed with sharpened candy canes and Christmas decorations, they will have to fight, sing, and dance their way to safety.
A Christmas zombie musical? It sounds like an impossible combination, but Anna and the Apocalypse manages to blend these disparate genres into a surprisingly coherent, fun, and moving film. The film juxtaposes cheerful and catchy musical numbers with scenes of gory zombie violence, creating a comedic and surreal effect. Beneath the surface of this bizarre premise, however, lies a sincere coming-of-age story that explores friendship, loss, and the difficulty of growing up in a world that is literally falling apart. An instant cult classic, perfect for the holidays.
Psycho Goreman
Two siblings, the bossy Mimi and the timid Luke, discover an ancient gem in their backyard that awakens a powerful and evil alien warlord, the Arch-Duke of Nightmares. The creature, bloodthirsty and eager to destroy the universe, discovers that he is magically bound to the gem and forced to obey Mimi’s every whim. The girl, delighted to have a new monstrous “friend,” renames him Psycho Goreman (or PG) and forces him to participate in her games, with cosmic and bloody consequences.
Psycho Goreman is a nostalgic and ultraviolent dive into the kids’ cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, as if E.T. were directed by a fan of GWAR and Power Rangers. The film is a celebration of practical special effects, with latex creatures and elaborate costumes that celebrate a pre-CGI era. The comedy arises from the absurd contrast between PG’s cosmic threat and his submission to a despotic child. It’s a film that proudly embraces its stupidity, offering a massive dose of gore, surreal humor, and an unexpected dose of heart.
The Greasy Strangler
Big Ronnie and his middle-aged son, Big Brayden, run a bizarre “disco walking tour.” Their dysfunctional life, filled with greasy food, is complicated by the arrival of Janet, a woman who sparks a romantic rivalry between father and son. Meanwhile, a mysterious serial killer, covered in grease from head to toe, begins strangling people on the streets. Brayden suspects that the “Greasy Strangler” might be his own father.
The Greasy Strangler is not a film for everyone. It is a work of deliberately unpleasant, grotesque, and repetitive anti-comedy, designed to make the viewer uncomfortable. Inspired by the cinema of John Waters and the work of Tim & Eric, the film pushes the boundaries of “bad taste” to the breaking point. With its kitsch aesthetic, over-the-top performances, and humor based on pure absurdity, it is a divisive cinematic experience that some will find unbearable and others brilliant. A cult film destined to be loved and hated in equal measure.
Deadstream
Shawn, a disgraced influencer after a stunt gone wrong, tries to reclaim his fame and sponsors with an epic event: live-streaming a night alone in a notorious haunted house. Armed with GoPro cameras and an irreverent attitude, Shawn provokes the spirits of the house, but soon discovers that the ghost of a suicidal poet does not appreciate his humor. His livestream for redemption turns into a real-time fight for his life.
Deadstream is a brilliant fusion of found footage and horror-comedy, a biting satire on influencer culture and their insatiable hunger for attention. The film is genuinely scary, with creature design and jump scares reminiscent of Evil Dead, but its comedy derives entirely from its protagonist. Shawn is a coward, a narcissist, and an idiot, but it’s impossible not to root for him as he faces real horrors with the sole goal of not losing his sponsorships. The livestream format is used intelligently, with viewer comments acting as a Greek chorus, offering advice, insults, and explanations.
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