Best Horror Comedies of 1999
- HaHa Jokester
- Jul 17
- 8 min read
1999 was a watershed year for genre films—The Blair Witch Project redefined indie horror, The Sixth Sense brought ghost stories back to prestige status, and horror-comedy quietly thrived in their shadow. While mainstream attention focused on scares and twists, horror-comedy delivered something different: creature features, campy sequels, surreal satire, and a growing wave of self-aware absurdity. As the millennium ended, horror-comedy kept its cool with a blend of blood, laughs, and pure weirdness.
The Horror Comedy Landscape in 1999
Indies vs Direct to Video
Horror-comedy in ’99 was split between two thriving territories: indie filmmakers pushing boundaries with bold, offbeat concepts, and direct-to-video creators leaning into camp and gore. The genre wasn't dominating theaters, but it was dominating midnight screenings and cult circles—where killer animals, reanimated freaks, and blackly comic serial killers found their most devoted fans.
Endings Without Rules
What made 1999’s horror-comedy landscape so thrilling was its disregard for formula. These films often abandoned traditional structure in favor of chaotic finales, surreal twists, or gleeful nonsense. Whether it was a talking tumor, a resurrected villain, or a reality-warping climax, the only constant was unpredictability. This anything-goes attitude gave the genre its edge—paving the way for future horror hybrids to blend absurdity, satire, and splatter without ever looking back.
Satire, Slime & Self-Awareness
1999’s horror-comedies were strange and self-assured. They spoofed reality TV, mutated sharks, and serial killer tropes while maintaining a gory edge. The tone was unmistakably late-‘90s—sarcastic, stylish, and packed with pop-culture detours.
Top 10 Horror Comedies of 1999
Idle Hands
Runtime: 1hr 32min
A stoner’s possessed hand goes on a killing spree in this gloriously dumb and bloody teen horror-comedy. Devin Sawa, Seth Green, and Jessica Alba lead a film packed with gags, gore, and severed-limb slapstick.
Idle Hands is a stoner horror-comedy that follows lazy teenager Anton, whose right hand becomes possessed and goes on a murderous rampage. As Anton scrambles to stop his rogue limb, he’s joined by his two undead slacker friends, creating a blend of gore, absurdity, and weed-fueled antics. The film gleefully mixes teen comedy tropes with over-the-top violence, delivering a tongue-in-cheek take on demonic possession and suburban apathy. With its mix of slapstick horror and '90s alt-culture attitude, Idle Hands earned cult status despite its initial box office stumble.
Deep Blue Sea
Runtime: 1hr 45min
While technically a creature feature, this shark thriller is full of absurd kills (RIP Samuel L. Jackson) and unintentionally hilarious dialogue. Call it action-horror-comedy and enjoy the ride.
Deep Blue Sea is a high-concept action-horror film set in an underwater research facility where scientists have genetically engineered mako sharks to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s. But the experiment backfires when the sharks become hyper-intelligent, turning the lab into a watery deathtrap. As the facility floods and the sharks pick off the crew one by one, the survivors must outwit the predators to escape. Packed with tense set pieces, gruesome deaths, and a now-iconic surprise kill, Deep Blue Sea blends creature-feature thrills with popcorn spectacle, making it a late-'90s cult favorite.
Ravenous
Runtime: 1hr 41min
Cannibalism meets dry, surreal comedy in this genre-defying frontier horror. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle square off in a dark, snowy satire with a haunting, weirdly whimsical score.
Ravenous is a darkly satirical horror-western set in a remote 1840s military outpost in the Sierra Nevada. When a mysterious stranger arrives claiming his wagon party resorted to cannibalism, the soldiers investigate—only to uncover a sinister truth about hunger, power, and survival. As madness and bloodlust spread, the film morphs into a chilling meditation on the Wendigo myth and the violence beneath Manifest Destiny. With its haunting score, pitch-black humor, and offbeat tone, Ravenous is a genre-defying cult classic that mixes psychological horror with grotesque absurdity.
Lake Placid
Runtime: 1hr 27min
Betty White feeding cows to a giant crocodile. That’s the vibe. This alligator movie doesn’t try to be scary—it tries to be fun, and succeeds, thanks to its sharp writing and sarcastic tone.
Lake Placid is a tongue-in-cheek creature feature that follows a group of mismatched characters—including a cynical sheriff, a quirky scientist, and a sarcastic mythology expert—as they investigate a series of gruesome deaths caused by a giant, man-eating crocodile in a remote Maine lake. Balancing horror and comedy with sharp dialogue and over-the-top gore, the film satirizes monster movie conventions while delivering genuine thrills. With standout performances and Betty White stealing scenes as an eccentric crocodile-loving local, Lake Placid became a beloved entry in the late-’90s wave of self-aware horror comedies.
House on Haunted Hill (Remake)
Runtime: 1hr 33min
Dark Castle’s first major reboot walks the tightrope between haunted house horror and amusement park spectacle. The result? Stylish, loud, occasionally scary—and often campy fun.
House on Haunted Hill, a remake of the 1959 Vincent Price classic, reimagines the story with slick visuals, darker tone, and gruesome effects. The plot centers on a group of strangers invited to a supposedly haunted former asylum by a twisted amusement park mogul, who offers them a million dollars to survive the night. But as supernatural forces awaken, it becomes clear the house itself has a deadly agenda. Blending late-’90s gothic style with gore and jump scares, the film embraces its B-movie roots while delivering a fast-paced, over-the-top horror experience with a cynical, tongue-in-cheek edge.
The Ninth Gate
Runtime: 2hr 13min
Roman Polanski’s satanic mystery with Johnny Depp is played straight, but its slow pacing and melodramatic occult tone push it into unintentional black comedy territory.
The Ninth Gate (1999), directed by Roman Polanski, is a slow-burning supernatural thriller that follows rare book dealer Dean Corso, hired to authenticate a mysterious occult tome believed to summon the Devil. As Corso travels across Europe comparing copies and encountering sinister figures, he becomes entangled in a web of secrets, rituals, and dark forces that blur the line between reality and the arcane. Moody and atmospheric, the film combines noir elements with esoteric horror, offering a cerebral, ambiguous journey into obsession, power, and the hidden paths to damnation.
Strangeland
Runtime: 1hr 27min
Dee Snider’s cyber-goth cautionary tale about body modification and chatroom horror is so sincere and stylized it veers into camp. A cult classic in industrial circles.
Strangeland is a grim cyber-horror film written by and starring Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider as Captain Howdy, a sadistic body modification fanatic who lures teenagers through internet chatrooms. After being captured and briefly institutionalized, Howdy is released—only to descend further into his twisted philosophy of “spiritual evolution” through extreme pain. With its industrial soundtrack, gritty aesthetic, and commentary on internet anonymity and suburban fear, Strangeland stands out as a disturbing cult entry that blends slasher tropes with fetish horror and late-‘90s moral panic over online predators.
The Killer Eye
Runtime: 1hr 40min
Full Moon's tale of a perverted alien eyeball is exactly what it sounds like—sleazy, cheap, and bizarrely funny. Pure midnight movie fuel.
The Killer Eye is a low-budget, gonzo horror-comedy from Full Moon Features that embraces pure B-movie absurdity. The film centers on a mad scientist who accidentally opens a portal to another dimension, unleashing a giant, sentient eyeball that possesses and terrorizes the residents of a rundown apartment building. Blending sleaze, campy effects, and awkward eroticism, the film leans hard into its exploitation roots with outrageous dialogue and bizarre kills. The Killer Eye is pure late-night video store fare—so-bad-it’s-good schlock that revels in its own ridiculousness and delivers exactly what the title promises.
The Wisdom of Crocodiles
Runtime: 1hr 39min
Jude Law plays a seductive vampire whose romantic brooding crosses into melodramatic absurdity. Stylish and strange with an unintentional gothic charm.
The Wisdom of Crocodiles, also known as Immortality, is a moody, philosophical horror-thriller that reimagines the vampire myth through a romantic and cerebral lens. Jude Law stars as Steven, a seductive and enigmatic man who feeds off the emotions of his victims, requiring them to fall in love with him before he can survive on their blood. As he begins to form a genuine connection with a woman who resists his manipulation, Steven’s carefully controlled existence begins to unravel. Blending sensuality, moral ambiguity, and urban alienation, the film offers a haunting meditation on love, addiction, and the cost of immortality.
Kolobos
Runtime: 1hr 27min
A self-aware reality show slasher with surreal imagery and postmodern twists. While not explicitly comedic, its meta-horror elements and low-budget weirdness create moments of dry humor.
Kolobos is a surreal, low-budget slasher that blends reality TV satire with psychological horror and art-house ambition. The film follows a group of young strangers who agree to be filmed living together in a secluded house, only to find themselves stalked by a mysterious killer as booby traps and hallucinations distort their sense of reality. What begins as a typical genre setup quickly spirals into a fragmented, nightmarish descent, questioning identity, sanity, and perception. With its inventive editing, eerie atmosphere, and metafictional touches, Kolobos has earned cult status as a hidden gem of late-‘90s experimental horror.
Underrated Picks Worth Your Time
The Eternal (Trance)
Runtime: 1hr 35min
Gothic Irish horror with mummy demons and drunken exorcisms. Equal parts eerie and campy.
The Eternal, also known as Trance, is a moody and gothic horror film that blends Celtic mythology with themes of addiction and ancestral trauma. The story follows an Irish-American couple who return to Ireland to confront family matters, only to awaken an ancient druidic force trapped in the mummified body of a woman believed to be a witch. As the malevolent entity begins to influence the family, hallucinations, possession, and dark secrets unravel. With its dreamlike pacing, supernatural atmosphere, and introspective tone, The Eternal is a haunting exploration of personal demons and the lingering grip of the past.
Shark Attack
Runtime: 1hr 40min
The straight-to-video version of Deep Blue Sea, but somehow even more bonkers.
Shark Attack is a made-for-TV creature feature that rides the wave of late-‘90s aquatic horror, following a marine biologist who investigates a series of deadly shark attacks in a small African coastal town. What he uncovers is a sinister conspiracy involving genetically altered sharks and a corrupt pharmaceutical company using them for experimental research. Though low-budget and packed with campy dialogue, the film delivers cheesy thrills, underwater action, and over-the-top science-gone-wrong tropes. Shark Attack embraces its B-movie identity, launching a franchise that found a home among fans of so-bad-it’s-good monster mayhem.
Freak Talks About Sex
Runtime: 1hr 30min
Technically a comedy, but with enough nihilistic horror-adjacent tone to count.
Freak Talks About Sex, also known as Blowin’ Smoke, is a quirky indie dramedy that blends slice-of-life realism with offbeat humor and post-adolescent aimlessness. The film follows Dave, a disillusioned young man who returns to his hometown of Syracuse, New York, after a failed relationship, only to drift through dead-end jobs, awkward romantic entanglements, and philosophical late-night conversations with his eccentric friend, Freak. With its dry wit, lo-fi charm, and focus on twentysomething ennui, the film captures the quiet absurdity of trying to figure out life in a place—and a mindset—you thought you'd already outgrown.
Horror Comedy Highlights & Trivia
Idle Hands Cut for Columbine: Originally scheduled for release just before the Columbine shooting, it was trimmed and delayed—limiting its box office but boosting its cult status.
Deep Blue Sea’s Shock Kill: Samuel L. Jackson’s mid-monologue death became instantly iconic, turning an action beat into comedic legend.
Betty White Goes Hard: Her profanity-laced lines in Lake Placid helped redefine her as an edgy comedic icon.
Where to Watch These Today
Streaming:
Idle Hands – Tubi, Vudu
Lake Placid – Peacock, Pluto TV
Ravenous – Prime Video, Criterion Channel
Deep Blue Sea – Max, Netflix
House on Haunted Hill – Max, Freevee
Physical Media:
Idle Hands has a shout! factory Blu-ray edition.
Ravenous is part of Scream Factory’s collector’s line.
Full Moon offers The Killer Eye in various low-budget horror box sets.
Closing Thoughts
1999 closed the decade with a bang—and a bite. Horror-comedy was irreverent, experimental, and gloriously unhinged, offering everything from killer hands to cannibalistic satire. Whether you preferred your laughs clever, gross, or just plain weird, horror-comedy in 1999 delivered with confidence—and no apologies. It was the perfect end to a decade that loved to mix blood with punchlines.
