Top 10 Favorite Horror/Comedy Double Features.

Yesterday's list was on my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films. Well, part of the stipulations for that list was that it could not include horror/comedies. To remedy that little issue, I've decided to put together a list of nothing but horror/comedies. Unfortunately, this is one of my favorite genres, and it was incredibly hard choosing. Because of this, I came up with a bit of an ingenious idea. Instead of doing your average Top 10 list, how about going the extra mile? Everybody loves a good double feature... so this list details what my Top 10 favorite double features would be for horror/comedies. This adds a bit of a twist to the countdown, because whereas one movie might go higher on the list than another, one double feature might be made of such pure awesome that I couldn't help but place it higher. So without further ado, here's the list.

Top 10 Favorite Horror/Comedy Double Features

10) Dead Alive/Planet Terror

Connection: Gory, gross-out horror with mutant pseudo-zombies.
Thoughts: Dead Alive is one of the goriest films I've ever seen, but done in such an over-the-top, gross-out way. Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse flick took a page from the same book, even keeping in the insanity of the violence--just exchanging a lawn mower for a gun-leg. Both are campy and bizarre with regular monsters and even a "final boss"-type climax. Good stuff.


9) Evil Dead II/Army of Darkness

Connection: Part of the same series.
Thoughts: There's no denying the campy fun of either of these movies, from the gore and violence to the batty craziness and awesome one-liners, these two films take the seriousness of the original film and completely go the other direction... but you can't deny it worked out quite well.


8) Snakes on a Plane/Flight of the Living Dead

Connection: Creatures on a plane.
Thoughts: Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf*ckin snakes/zombies on this motherf*ckin plane! You can't deny the fun factor of Snakes, but it also spawned a great little Asylum flick. The Asylum makes a lot of terrible knock-off films, but Flight manages to actually be a great one. Why? Because you can tell how passionate the filmmakers were. Just listening to the audio commentary is enough to know how much fun they had making it, which translated into how fun the final product turned out.


7) Idle Hands/Beetlejuice

Connection: Ghosts and wacky possessions.
Thoughts: This is the biggest stretch double feature, I know. In the first, Devon Sawa's hand gets possessed by the devil and goes on a killing spree. Meanwhile, his two best friends come back from the dead to help defeat the evil and get back to normal. Beetlejuice, on the other hand, is about a couple that comes back from the dead and tries to kick out the tacky new owners of their home and get back to normal. They take the help of the titular bio-exorcist, but that just causes more harm than good. Both are a little too underrated and would work well together, I think.


6) Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters 2

Connection: Original and Sequel.

Thoughts: 'Nuff said.



5) Feast/Hatchet

Connection: Breaks genre rules while paying homage to said genres.
Thoughts: Feast breaks all the rules, making it a truly unexpected ride. First time through, you honestly will not be able to figure out what happens next. Not to mention it's totally fun and has some dark comedy. Hatchet, on the other hand, pays homage to 80s slashers (even going so far as to have cameos by some of the big names of those times). And, like the former film, you probably won't be able to figure out who will live and who will die.


4) Tremors/Tremors 2

Connection: Original and Sequel.
Thoughts: I know a lot of people don't like any after the first film, and while I agree with the third and fourth... the second one is still awesome to me. It might not have Kevin Bacon, but Fred Ward returns, as does Michael Gross. And how can you not love Burt? It amps up the thrills, the comedy, and everything else that would typically make people like a sequel... so both are awesome in my book.


3) Tucker and Dale vs. Evil/Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Connection: Turns the slasher genre on its head by giving an unexpected look at the killers and victims.
Thoughts: I've only seen both of these once, but they're both new favorites, easily. Tucker and Dale looks at slashers by making the apparent villains the good guys and the victims more villainous. Leslie Vernon, on the other hand, takes a much more meta approach by explaining the intricacies and minute details of slashers. Both are fantastic takes on the genre and I can't wait to check them out again.


2) Shaun of the Dead/Zombieland

Connection: Zombies
Thoughts: Similar to my #1 spot, there was probably no doubt in anybody's mind that Shaun was going to end up in at least the Top 2 or 3. The former is one of the best horror/comedies ever made, as well as one of the best zombie movies ever made. And Zombieland is often considered its American equivalent. Not to mention the latter is already mixing in with popular culture with its survival rules. You can't tell me you didn't watch the last episode of The Walking Dead (Season 2, episode 2) and not think "Cardio!"


1) Little Shop of Horrors/Repo! The Genetic Opera

Connection: Bloody Musicals
Thoughts: There was probably no doubt this (or something similar) was going to end up in the number 1 spot. We all know my undying adoration for Little Shop, as well as my unexplainable love for Repo. They go together quite nicely, and I don't think anything else would have hit this top spot.


Runner-Up: Hide and Creep/Undead. Low-budget indie flicks with zombies... and aliens. No further explanation needed.