Best Horror Comedies of 1986
- HaHa Horrors
- May 27
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 20
1986 was horror comedy unchained. This was the year the genre doubled down on insanity—blending slapstick, splatter, satire, and sheer absurdity into some of the decade's most deliriously entertaining horror films. Whether it was tiny carnivorous aliens, demonic elevators, or zombie prom dates, horror comedy in 1986 was loud, colorful, and gloriously chaotic. With practical effects pushed to their gooey limits and a postmodern sense of humor seeping into the bloodshed, 1986 proved horror could be grotesque and hilarious—sometimes in the same scene.
The Horror Comedy Landscape in 1986
Postmodern Madness
Horror wasn’t just being spoofed—it was being remixed. Films in 1986 riffed on familiar tropes while leaning into self-awareness, irony, and gleeful nonsense.
The Undead Get Silly
From resurrected zombies to possessed pets, 1986 embraced reanimation plots with comic timing and gallons of gore.
The FX Renaissance
Rubbery monsters, exploding heads, and animatronic creatures dominated the screen—practical effects became punchlines and setpieces all at once.
Top 10 Horror Comedies of 1986
Little Shop of Horrors
Runtime: 1hr 34min
Frank Oz’s musical remake is pure perfection—a doo-wop, blood-soaked love story with Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist and a man-eating plant voiced by Levi Stubbs.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) is a delightfully twisted horror-comedy musical directed by Frank Oz, based on the off-Broadway stage show and Roger Corman's 1960 cult film. Set in a rundown flower shop on Skid Row, the story follows meek florist Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), who discovers a strange, talking plant he names Audrey II—after his kind-hearted coworker and crush (Ellen Greene). But the plant thrives on human blood, and as it grows, so do its monstrous demands. With catchy songs, over-the-top performances, and dazzling practical effects, the film blends doo-wop charm with dark satire, culminating in a gloriously absurd tale of ambition, love, and botanical mayhem.
Night of the Creeps
Runtime: 1hr 28min
Alien slugs, zombie dates, and flamethrowers—this cult classic nails the blend of sci-fi horror and frat-boy humor with one-liners for the ages.
Night of the Creeps (1986), directed by Fred Dekker, is a cult classic that gleefully mashes together sci-fi, horror, and comedy with a heavy dose of 1950s B-movie nostalgia. The story begins in the 1950s with a crashed alien experiment—parasitic slugs that infect and reanimate corpses. Flash forward to the 1980s, and the parasites are unleashed on a college campus, turning students into zombie-like hosts. Enter wisecracking detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) and two nerdy undergrads trying to stop the outbreak before prom night. With sharp dialogue, inventive kills, and loving homage to genre tropes, Night of the Creeps is a hilarious, gory love letter to horror fans—equal parts heart and head explosions.
House
Runtime: 1hr 33min
A Vietnam vet battles monsters in his haunted house in this bizarre, heartfelt horror comedy that’s part sitcom, part trauma exploration, all wild.
House (1986), directed by Steve Miner, is a surreal and darkly comedic haunted house film that blends psychological horror with absurd humor. The story centers on Roger Cobb (William Katt), a troubled author and Vietnam veteran who moves into his late aunt’s eerie old home to work on a new book and confront past traumas—especially the mysterious disappearance of his son. But the house has other plans. With portals to bizarre dimensions, reanimated corpses, and grotesque creatures lurking behind every door, Roger is plunged into a nightmarish funhouse of terror and hilarity. Balancing jump scares with tongue-in-cheek moments, House is a strange, inventive ride that turns personal grief into a monster-infested, darkly funny battleground.
Chopping Mall
Runtime: 1hr 35min
Killer security robots terrorize teens trapped in a shopping mall overnight. The title promises gore, but the film delivers B-movie mayhem with a wink.
Chopping Mall (1986), directed by Jim Wynorski, is a campy, high-concept horror-comedy that turns a shopping center into a deadly battleground. When a group of teens decide to party after hours in a mall furniture store, they unwittingly become targets of the mall’s new high-tech security system—three killbot robots armed with lasers, tasers, and a short fuse. After a lightning storm scrambles their programming, the robots go on a bloody rampage, reducing rebellious youth to smoldering piles of gore. Fast-paced, gleefully cheesy, and packed with ’80s flair, Chopping Mall delivers synth-heavy chaos, over-the-top deaths, and satirical jabs at consumerism—all in under 80 minutes.
Class of Nuke ’Em High
Runtime: 1hr 32min
Troma goes nuclear with this radioactive high school horror comedy full of toxic sludge, punk energy, and grotesque mutations.
Class of Nuke ’Em High (1986), directed by Richard W. Haines and Lloyd Kaufman, is a gleefully grotesque Troma classic that blends high school hijinks with radioactive mayhem. Set in Tromaville, a town where the local high school sits disturbingly close to a malfunctioning nuclear power plant, the film follows a group of students who begin to mutate and lose control after being exposed to toxic waste. What starts as teen rebellion quickly spirals into chaos, complete with mutant creatures, punk gangs, glowing green goo, and a baby born of nuclear horror. Outrageously lowbrow and proudly trashy, Class of Nuke ’Em High is a splatter-filled satire of youth culture, environmental negligence, and Reagan-era paranoia—served with Troma’s signature dose of insanity.
TerrorVision
Runtime: 1hr 23min
An alien garbage monster invades a suburban home via satellite dish. Satirical, surreal, and visually insane, it's a perfect artifact of ‘80s cable culture.
TerrorVision (1986), directed by Ted Nicolaou, is a neon-soaked, satirical horror-comedy that skewers 1980s consumer culture, television addiction, and suburban excess. The film follows the bizarre Putterman family, who unwittingly receive a grotesque alien creature through their new satellite TV dish. What begins as a glitch in the signal turns into a gory invasion, as the slobbering, shape-shifting monster oozes its way through the house, devouring and mimicking its victims. Blending garish set design, over-the-top performances, and a warped sense of humor, TerrorVision is part creature feature, part parody—a cult gem that celebrates and critiques the very era it was born from, all in a blast of slime, static, and synth.
From Beyond
Runtime: 1hr 29min
Stuart Gordon’s psychedelic follow-up to Re-Animator turns Lovecraftian horror into a sex-and-slime extravaganza that veers into dark comedy through sheer excess.
From Beyond (1986), directed by Stuart Gordon and based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, is a sensual, grotesque journey into other dimensions—and the horrors they contain. The film follows scientists who invent the Resonator, a machine that stimulates the pineal gland and allows humans to perceive creatures from a parallel universe. But the experiment goes horribly wrong, unleashing monstrous entities and triggering terrifying mutations, both physical and psychological. Starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, From Beyond pushes the boundaries of body horror with striking practical effects, sexual undertones, and a relentlessly surreal atmosphere. It's a bold, slime-drenched blend of sci-fi and horror that turns perception itself into a source of terror.
Critters
Runtime: 1hr 26min
A group of carnivorous space furballs land in small-town USA. Think Gremlins with more teeth, bounty hunters, and farm-related carnage.
Critters (1986), directed by Stephen Herek, is a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi horror-comedy that introduces audiences to the Crites—furry, carnivorous alien fugitives with a taste for human flesh. After escaping from an intergalactic prison, the Crites crash-land in rural Kansas and begin terrorizing the unsuspecting Brown family, rolling through the countryside in a feeding frenzy. Hot on their trail are two shape-shifting alien bounty hunters, bringing cosmic chaos to small-town America. With a mix of sharp practical effects, dark humor, and Spielbergian charm, Crittersbalances scares and laughs, making it a cult favorite that combines the creature-feature thrills of Gremlins with a rebellious outer-space twist.
Slaughter High
Runtime: 1hr 35min
A slasher revenge flick with prank-filled kills and a killer jester mask. More absurd than scary—and that’s half the fun.
Slaughter High (1986), co-directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Mackenzie Litten, is a revenge-fueled slasher that mixes gruesome kills with a twisted sense of humor. The story revolves around a group of former high school bullies who are invited back to their now-abandoned school for a mysterious reunion. Once there, they’re hunted down one by one by a masked killer—Marty, a nerdy outcast they once humiliated in a cruel prank gone horribly wrong. With its grim setting, synth-heavy score, and over-the-top death scenes involving acid baths, poisoned beer, and exploding guts, Slaughter High revels in '80s slasher excess. While not as polished as its peers, it offers campy, blood-soaked fun and a mean streak that horror fans still appreciate.
Spookies
Runtime: 1hr 25min
A film stitched together from two unrelated productions, resulting in non-stop monster madness with no logic but endless weirdness.
Spookies (1986) is a chaotic, creature-packed horror oddity that has earned cult status for its sheer strangeness and overstuffed charm. The film follows a group of young people who take shelter in a creepy old mansion, only to be picked off one by one by a parade of monsters—including farting muck-men, grim reapers, spider women, and possessed dolls. Behind the madness is a necromancer trying to revive his dead bride, using the guests as sacrificial fodder. Infamously stitched together from two separate unfinished films, Spookies is disjointed in plot but overflowing with practical effects and bizarre set pieces. It’s a mess—but a glorious, entertaining mess that showcases the wild, anything-goes spirit of 1980s horror.
Underrated Picks Worth Your Time
April Fool’s Day
Runtime: 1hr 30min
A slasher that morphs into a comedy of manners, with a clever twist that divided audiences and critics alike.
April Fool’s Day (1986), directed by Fred Walton, is a clever, twist-filled slasher that toys with the conventions of the genre while keeping audiences guessing. The story follows a group of college friends invited to a remote island mansion by their quirky hostess, Muffy St. John, for a weekend getaway. As practical jokes escalate and guests begin to vanish under mysterious circumstances, paranoia sets in—but nothing is quite what it seems. With a polished cast, moody atmosphere, and a final twist that redefines everything before it, April Fool’s Day subverts slasher expectations with wit instead of gore. It’s a restrained, suspenseful entry in the genre that rewards patience with one of the most memorable endings of the era.
Blood Hook
Runtime: 1hr 51min
A fishing-themed slasher comedy with strange pacing and a surreal Minnesota vibe. Yes, it exists—and it’s oddly mesmerizing.
Blood Hook (1986), directed by Jim Mallon and produced by Troma, is a bizarre, darkly comedic slasher that mixes fishing culture with murderous mayhem. Set in a quiet Wisconsin town during a fishing festival, the film follows a group of young people who find themselves stalked by a deranged killer using oversized fishing lures as weapons. As bodies start piling up, the absurdity of the premise is matched by a surprisingly straight-faced delivery, creating a uniquely offbeat tone. Blending satire, slow-burn suspense, and regional oddities, Blood Hook is a low-budget curiosity with a hook (literally and figuratively), reeling in cult status thanks to its weird premise, strange pacing, and fishy kills.
Neon Maniacs
Runtime: 1hr 31min
A gang of themed monsters terrorizes teens near the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s like The Warriorsmeets Friday the 13th.
Neon Maniacs (1986), directed by Joseph Mangine, is a cult horror oddity that blends slasher tropes with monster mayhem and a splash of 1980s neon weirdness. The story follows a group of grotesque, themed killers—dubbed the “Neon Maniacs”—who live beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and emerge at night to slaughter unsuspecting San Franciscans. When a teenage girl survives one of their attacks, she must convince her skeptical classmates and prepare for a bloody showdown. Each Maniac has a distinct persona, from samurai to soldier to executioner, giving the film a comic-book sensibility. With its synth score, low-budget charm, and surreal tone, Neon Maniacs is messy, undercooked, and endlessly fascinating—a misfit monster movie that’s as goofy as it is gruesome.
Horror Highlights & Trivia
Audrey II Took 60 Puppeteers to Operate: Little Shop of Horrors raised the bar for animatronic performance—especially in the film’s alternate (and darker) ending.
Fred Dekker’s Breakout: Night of the Creeps established Dekker’s signature blend of genre tribute and comic timing, paving the way for The Monster Squad in 1987.
Troma Hits Peak Slime: Class of Nuke ’Em High and The Toxic Avenger sequels cemented Troma as the go-to for underground horror comedy.
Where to Watch These Today
Streaming:
Little Shop of Horrors – Max, Apple TV
Night of the Creeps – Prime Video, Shudder
House – Arrow Player, Tubi
From Beyond – Shudder, Peacock
Critters – Freevee, Pluto TV
Physical Media:Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, and Arrow Video offer beautiful restorations of House, Night of the Creeps, From Beyond, and TerrorVision—often with alternate cuts and commentary.
Closing Thoughts
1986 didn’t just embrace horror comedy—it weaponized it. It was a year where filmmakers stopped asking, “Is this too much?” and just said, “Let’s go for it.” Horror became a playground for absurdity, excess, and twisted joy. If 1985 was the boom, 1986 was the glorious aftermath—oozing, singing, and crawling with unforgettable weirdness. Whether you're in it for the talking plants, brain slugs, or killer robots, 1986 proved that horror comedy could be anything—and everything—all at once.
