The 25 Best Horror-Comedy Movies

It might not be laugh-out-loud funny, but it's at least perpetual-smirk humorous, with ludicrous scenes of evil alien clowns wiping out humans with giant mallets, balloon animals and killer shadow puppets.

This tongue-in-cheek homage to '50s monster movies will make you giggle in between squeals as you attempt to mask how creeped out you are by the thought of a giant mutant spider invasion.

In this campy sequel to the 1978 cult hit Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, mad scientist Dr. Gangreen has found a way around the tomato ban by transforming the veggies into people! That Return of the Killer Tomatoes is the best of the series isn't saying much, but amidst its rapid-fire, corny-and-proud-of-it jokes, quite a few actually work -- including the breaking down of the "fourth wall" when the film runs out of money and has to resort to product placement. Plus, there's George Clooney.

Like a road trip into hell, Dead End's witty dialogue captures the painfully funny and accurate dynamics of a family (headed by Ray Wise of Jeepers Creepers II and Reaper fame) driving through the night on a never-ending haunted highway. Are we there yet?

TV show Project Greenlight's attempt at a genre flick (i.e., one that might actually turn a profit), Feast didn't fare much better at the box office than previous winners, but it succeeded in its goal of creating a wild, wacky horror comedy that plays with the conventions of the genre.

Sure, it's a bit of a Gremlins knock-off (with a bit of Terminator to boot), but Critters established itself in its own right as a freewheeling diversion about porcupine-like alien fugitives wreaking havoc on Earth and the equally destructive alien bounty hunters who arrive to retrieve them. Feel free to ignore the sequels.

Apparently, Santa (wrestler Bill Goldberg) is really the muscle-bound son of Satan who lost a bet with an angel and has had to deliver presents to kids as part of his thousand-year sentence. Now that the thousand years is over, however, he's free to be his natural homicidal self, driving a sleigh pulled by a demonic buffalo and killing anyone who looks at him cross-eyed. Wantonly irreverent, Santa's Slay features deaths by candy cane, eggnog, menorah, Christmas tree star and turkey leg, not to mention the pivotal caroler massacre scene.

Sort of like Pleasantville of the Living Dead, this smartly written satire of the conservative values and conformity of 1950s suburbia is set amidst the backdrop of a world in which zombies have been domesticated. What could possibly go wrong?

A haunted house movie with a real fun streak, House features cartoonishly grotesque monsters and slapstick action, including flying lawn tools and a pesky disembodied hand -- plus great comedic performances from William Katt and George Wendt.

An unapologetically juvenile yet frequently laugh-out-loud slasher spoof in the mold of Airplane!, Scary Movie manages to overcome the dubious writing talents of both the Wayans Brothers and Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans) to become a riotous send-up.