Looking for some solid Netflix offerings that will satisfy your thirst for blood and a few chuckles? Netflix’s streaming options have you covered with a bucketful of bloody flicks that don’t take themselves too seriously. The horror-comedy genre isn’t the easiest thing to pull off, but these movies rise to the challenge and straddle the line between campy creepiness and humor with side-splitting results. So, without further delay, here are 10 Netflix instant options worth queuing up for some laughs this Halloween season.
Zombeavers
As it’s been well documented on this website, the internet fell in love last year with the so-stupid-it’s-awesome idea of a movie about zombie beavers. Surprisingly, the idea of beavers that become ravenous woodland creatures because of a toxic waste spill (Bill Burr is at fault here) wasn’t a SyFy channel flavor of the week. The movie’s got everything that a cheesy horror comedy should have: sexy coeds, their idiotic boyfriends, redneck locals, and just about every horror trope in the book. The beavers don’t look particularly scary themselves, but the aftereffects of being bitten by one of these critters is especially horrifying.
Housebound
Just when the haunted house genre was ready to be locked away in the attic and forgotten about comes a movie like Housbound to punch viewers right in their eyeballs. The New Zealand comedy made its U.S. debut at SXSW last year to much acclaim, but was forgotten about in all that industry noise. What you need to know is that the story of a troubled girl who’s placed under house arrest in her mother’s haunted house is sure to provide you with some genuinely creepy supernatural thrills in between well-crafted deadpan humor.
Wolfcop
I had a feeling I was going to like Wolfcop based on its incredible poster art, and was pleased that the movie lived up to its expectations. The Canadian film centers around Lou, a small town cop who spends more time with his butt glued to a bar stool chatting up the busty bartender than doing actual police work. After he’s bitten by a werewolf, he becomes a crime fighting beast (pun very intended) and sets his sights on the local crime syndicate. The movie’s got some decent lines scattered throughout, but what really makes it work are the visual gags. I don’t want to spoil it, but nothing will prepare you for Lou’s first transformation into the wolf.
Cockneys vs. Zombies
With enough firepower to make the Expendables cast jealous, this zombie comedy flick follows a group of London urbanites who clear the undead from their neighborhood one headshot at a time. While the movie is understandably going to be compared to Shawn of the Dead, it stands on its own with a blend of fast-paced action and over-the-top sight gags. Seriously, what other horror film has a guy punting a zombie baby like a football?
Burying the Ex
Max (Anton Yelchin) meets the beautiful, horror-loving Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), but unfortunately is already in a relationship with his clingy, save-the-world girlfriend (Ashley Greene). Poor Max. Just when he’s about to breakup with his overbearing girlfriend, she’s hit and killed by a bus. This is when the movie goes into rom-com zombie mode and Max’s dead girlfriend rises from the grave and begins causing havoc. The movie’s not exactly jump-out-of-your-seat scary, but that’s not really what it’s aiming for, and sweetens all that rotting flesh with humor. It’s always nice when a random comedy you stumble across on Netflix produces a few laugh out loud moments, and the best lines come from Max’s slacker brother (Oliver Cooper). Plus, Alexandra Daddario is always easy on the eyes.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Tucker and Dale might just be the best horror comedy of the last 10 years and has built up a cult following thanks to its longtime stay on Netflix Instant. The slasher movie spoof follows Tucker and Dale, two country bumpkins who want nothing more than a peaceful weekend in the woods. Unfortunately, the stereotypical group of college kids has to come stomping along and start falling into wood chippers, with Tucker and Dale unfairly taking the blame. The movie has plenty of gore to satisfy even the most demanding of horror fans, but balances out the gross with plenty of slapstick. If you’re a fan of horror comedy and you haven’t seen this move yet, you have no excuse. If you have seen it, watch it again.
The Monster Squad
From the trailer’s opening narration, The Monster Squad never tries to hide what it is: a mashup of Ghostbusters and The Goonies. Hell, the movie even has a chubby, wisecrack-making kid to play the Chunk character. The formula works exceptionally well and the storyline about a group of kids who must save their town from an invasion of Universal’s monsters is incredibly campy good fun. Goofball lines like “Wolfman’s got nards” and the ’80s creature feature special vibe still hold up rather well in this cult classic.
John Dies at the End
Part horror, part action comedy, part fantasy, all weird, John Dies at the End is the spookiest “don’t do drugs” PSA you’ve ever seen. Based on the novel of the same name, the movie centers around a dangerous street drug called “soy sauce” that sends people into another dimension where horrors like zombies composed of meat products are just an everyday hassle. It’s up to two college stoners to save humanity from the drug’s otherworldly powers — assuming they can survive the mind trip themselves. While trying to follow the film’s constantly veering path might just have viewers feeling like they’ve had their own shot of “soy sauce,” it’s best to just embrace the madness and go along for the ride.
Big Ass Spider!
If it wasn’t evident from the movie’s title, this creature feature doesn’t take itself the slightest bit seriously, and it’s all the better for it. In layman’s terms, yes, the movie is about a big ass spider, but, more specifically, it’s about a goofball exterminator and an even more goofball hospital security guard who must save Los Angeles from a giant spider that’s about to unleash its eight-legged offspring on the city. The special effects aren’t particularly impressive, but the plot doesn’t have much drag and there is more than enough crude humor to illicit a couple of guffaws.
Grabbers
This Irish monster movie takes the tired old horror troupe of the killing off the drunk, party it up character and flips it around, making booze a lifesaving elixir. The movie centers around an alcoholic cop who discovers that alien octopus-like creatures have decided to use their small town as a buffet. When it’s discovered that the monsters, dubbed “grabbers,” leave the town drunk alone, the solution is to stay buzzed while finding a way to fight off the carnivorous beasts. If that kind of ridiculousness isn’t enough to sell you on the idea of throwing this monster flick on at midnight, then let me just point out that it pulled two 2014 Fangoria Chainsaw Award nominations.
