I love a good scare but I’m fully aware that there’s a good group of people out there that hate getting scared and would rather spend their Halloween night laughing instead of screaming. Here’s my list of favorite Halloween movies that are actually fun instead of terrifying:
10) Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Take the Zombie genre and lampoon it at the same time that you pay tribute to it. Oh, and wrap it all up in a hilarious social commentary. This movie is so smart and so fun.
9) The Monster Squad (1987)
Billed as a kids movie, this film could only be made in the 80’s with all kinds of non-kid-appropriate themes and scares but for adults, especially fans of 80’s movies, this movie is a blast. Throw in that it was written by Shane Black who wrote/directed Iron Man 3 and wrote the Lethal Weapon movies.
8) Zombieland (2009)
A wacky zombie comedy that is basically the opposite of The Walking Dead in terms of seriousness. One of the best surprise cameos at the end as well.
7) Fright Night (1985)
There’s some scares in this one but there are some big laughs as well. Strikes a great balance between terrifying and hilarious. Look for brilliant performances from both Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride) and Roddy McDowall (Cornelius in Planet of the Apes).
6) Beetlejuice (1988)
Michael Keaton needs to be in more movies. His performance as Beetlejuice is one of the ages. Tim Burton struck gold with this bizarre film that’s as weird as it is fun.
5) Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Abbott and Costello bring the laughs to a genre that even in 1948 was overdone and make this film a joy to watch.
4) Army of Darkness (1992)
The Sam Raimi of the late 1980’s and early 90’s was still in his absolute creative prime and this film brings all of his camera tricks, tropes, and cleverness into one. So many quotable lines. Owes as much to The Three Stooges as it does to classic horror.
3) Ghostbusters (1986)
One of the best comedy scripts ever written. The recent re-release to theaters showed how well this film has aged. Absolute classic on every level.
2) Young Frankenstein (1974)
My personal favorite Mel Brooks film. So many sight gags, plays on words, and clever comedy tricks. This is what comedy used to be like before it devolved into crass gross-out humor.
1) The Burbs (1989)
This film is so underrated. Directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace, The Howling), Dante knows how to combine horror and comedy. Tom Hanks is awesomely over the top in this along with a fabulous supporting cast including Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Bruce Dern (only man to kill John Wayne on film), and Corey Feldman (Mouth in The Goonies).
I missed this so sorry to comment late, but the party I was at featured “E.T.” which has that fun trick-or-treating scene. I’d forgotten the Halloween tie-in. 🙂 Awesome titles on your list…”The Burbs” especially!