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HalloweeK continues with this list of scary movies that are funny, with “scary” being a broad-ranging term that could mean “will traumatize children” or “might cause you to jump” but not necessarily “scary for you in particular.”  I intended for the list to not go higher than PG-13, but I couldn’t make it work.

There are 3-4 other movies in this series, and they are very much terrible.

10. Return of the Killer Tomatoes – I’ll be honest with you, I don’t remember a lot about this movie.  I saw it several times over the course of a few years, but it has been 15+ years since I last saw it. I don’t know if there are any legit scares in it, as I recall it being mostly silly. I have been often tempted to re-watch it, but I’m afraid I won’t like it anymore, so I’d rather leave it filed under “pleasant memories.” And, hey, George Clooney is in it!

9. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – Two backwoods boys are mistaken for standard horror movie tropes and are constantly dismayed by the stupid teenagers who off themselves in a series of gruesome accidents while trying to “escape” the boys.  Alan Tudyk is one of the backwoods boys, and he’s great.

8. Gremlins – More gross than scary, and that story about Kate’s dad is out-of-place sad (while still being darkly comedic).

7. The Cabin in the Woods – This one lost a little for me on my second watch, but I love a good “turns the genre on its head” movie, and this might be the king of those. Also has the benefit of literally changing the meaning of every other horror movie that’s ever been made, which is no mean feat.

6. The Frighteners – The comedy tapers off in the last half the film, but it still rates as “humorous overall” for me.

5. Army of Darkness – It was recently announced they’re making a sequel to this and I couldn’t be happier. I can appreciate the first two Evil Dead movies for what they are, but they’re a bit too gross for me. This one is m favorite of the series.

4. Nightmare Before Christmas – Some of the imagery and monsters in this could seriously mess a kid up, I suspect.

3. Beetlejuice – This one also has a recently-announced sequel in the works, and I say if they can get Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder back for it, I’m all in.

2. Little Shop of Horrors – Definitely more comedy than scares, but Rick Moranis chops Steve Marting into bite-sized (for a giant plant) pieces, so it earns its place here.

1. Ghostbusters – There are very few lists I could make that this movie wouldn’t be at the top of, if it is the kind of list that would include this movie, if that makes sense. It’s one of my favorite movies ever. But the first time I saw it, when the nice librarian ghost turned all nasty and rotten? Oh dang.

(I know you’re sad that Shaun of the Dead didn’t make this list, and I know it’s funny, but there’s that one death that is oh so very gross that puts me off it. Sorry!)

Tags: Tuesday10

Written by: Mark