Summary
- Common horror tropes rehashed over the years, leading to a rise of self-aware horror movies blending comedy elements.
- Tremors, Evil Dead 2, and Happy Death Day utilize humor to subvert traditional horror tropes, crafting a unique movie experience.
- Movies like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and The Cabin in the Woods brilliantly mock classic horror clichés for comedic effect.
As the years pass, the horror genre remains supreme within cinema and Hollywood, with frights and ominous spectacles still being created or reimagined daily in the new streaming landscape. From classic ghost and demon stories to fresh and original new horror tales from A24, horror continues to hold a firm grip on audiences as of 2025, delivering a movie-going experience unlike any other.
8 Best French Horror Films, Ranked
Horror buffs who want a taste of something different should give the following French films a shot.
Within the horror genre, it has become commonplace for stereotypical horror tropes to be rehashed over the last few decades, with several movies leaning in on their usage as a part of the filmmaking process. As a result, numerous horror movies have emerged that don't take themselves too seriously, often blending comedy and horror elements while operating as self-aware, distinct from out-and-out horror movies.
7 Tremors
Timeless Classic That Depicts Monster Mayhem
Tremors
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 19, 1990
- Cast
- Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Victor Wong, Robert Jayne, Ariana Richards, Charlotte Stewart, Tony Genaro, Richard Marcus, Bibi Besch, Conrad Bachmann, Sunshine Parker, Michael Dan Wagner, John Goodwin, John Pappas, Frank Welker, Tom Woodruff Jr.
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Director
- Ron Underwood
- Budget
- $11 million
The much-revered Tremors has undoubtedly amassed a substantial following since its release decades ago, with the monster horror starring Kevin Bacon being draped in 90s charm. Set in the fictional town of Perfection, Nevada, two handymen discover the existence of burrowing worm monsters that threaten the small town and its population.
While the threat of the vicious monsters in Tremors holds much mystery and cause for fright, the movie's lighthearted tone, cheesy one-liners, comedic characters, and performances truly make Tremors a monster horror that amuses along the way.
6 Attack The Block
Alien Attack In The Depths Of London
Attack the Block
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 12, 2011
- Cast
- John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard, Luke Treadaway, Jumayn Hunter, Nick Frost
- Runtime
- 88 minutes
- Director
- Joe Cornish
- Budget
- $13 million
Among British films that dabble within the horror genre, Attack the Block, a movie that saw John Boyega before his rise to stardom, weaves in UK banter alongside terrifying aliens that run rampant within a block tower in London. The movie's premise revolves around a group of teenagers who find themselves cornered by an alien invasion on their block, forcing them to fight for their survival with unlikely allies by their side.
While the aliens and the tension they cause are certainly petrifying, Attack the Block's sprinkling of British slang and culture, along with Moses and his friend's hilarious overconfidence in taking on the ominous fiends, lends itself to the creative and fun filmmaking at hand.
5 Evil Dead 2
Sam Raimi's Acclaimed Horror Franchise Becomes Absurd In Its Sequel
Evil Dead II
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- March 13, 1987
- Runtime
- 84 minutes
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Budget
- $3.6 million
Before Sam Raimi's time spent working on his Spider-Man trilogy, the horror connoisseur delivered the Evil Dead trilogy, with his second entry in the franchise, Evil Dead 2, building on the success of its predecessor. However, its excess in over-the-top chaos, unfiltered gore, and dated monster designs make Evil Dead 2 a jaw-dropping spectacle that opts not to take itself seriously, more so than the first film in the trilogy.
8 Found Footage Horror Movies That Actually Feel Real
Found footage horror movies live and die by their adherence to realism, and these movies embrace that concept and execute on it flawlessly.
Evil Dead 2 reestablishes Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda, who come across a recording that unleashes demonic forces seeking to possess and traumatize them while secluded in a small cabin. What unfolds is pure carnage and slapstick horror of the highest order, as laughing rooms and practical effects run wild, creating a pure, entertaining horror that is aware of its own absurdities.
4 Happy Death Day
Groundhog Day In Slasher Form
Happy Death Day
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 13, 2017
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Director
- Christopher Landon
- Budget
- $4.8 million
One of the more fun horrors to release within the last decade is Happy Death Day, a modern slasher that utilizes many horror tropes to bring forth a vibrant and original premise in the genre. Happy Death Day follows Theresa Gelbman, a college student whose world is turned upside-down when an unknown masked individual murders her. However, Theresa is soon faced with the reality of being locked in an infinite time loop, living the same day, with her mission being to try to identify her killer to stop the never-ending cycle.
Combining slasher tropes with the concept of Groundhog Day, the movie plays into typical slasher clichés through the incorporation of self-aware humor and campy elements, as Theresa relives her inescapable hell, lightening the mood throughout an often bloody affair.
3 Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Hilarious Slasher Full Of Misunderstandings
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- September 30, 2011
WHERE TO WATCH
- Cast
- Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, Alan Tudyk, Chelan Simmons, Jesse Moss
- Runtime
- 89 minutes
- Director
- Eli Craig
- Budget
- $5 million
Very few horrors completely deliver a brilliant movie, jokingly mocking the typical tropes expected within slasher horrors, like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a slasher comedy that offers a wealth of laughs amidst horrendous deaths. The movie follows two hillbillies, Tucker and Dale, who suddenly become entangled in a sticky situation when a group of college students believe them to be gruesome murderers, when in fact, the pair are kind and generous souls, with the murders surrounding them coming through misunderstandings or tragic accidents.
Playing on slasher genre conventions such as young and dumb college students and menacingly-looking axe-wielders, the movie's absurd premise and hilarious death sequences that flip the script on what we expect from slasher movies bring forth a truly comical experience.
2 The Cabin In The Woods
Horror Gem With A Killer Twist
The Cabin in the Woods
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- April 13, 2012
- Runtime
- 95 minutes
- Director
- Drew Goddard
- Cast
- Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Amy Acker, Brian J. White, Sigourney Weaver, Tim DeZarn, Tom Lenk, Greg Zach, Dan Payne, Jodelle Ferland, Dan Shea, Maya Massar, Matt Drake, Nels Lennarson, Rukiya Bernard, Peter Kelamis, Adrian Holmes, Chelah Horsdal, Terry Chen, Heather Doerksen
- Budget
- $30 million
One of the most popular and acclaimed horrors of the 21st century, The Cabin in the Woods constantly challenges audiences and their expectations, deconstructing familiar horror tropes. Following a group of popular college students who stay in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, the group slowly starts to become victims of the mysteries of their location.
10 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked
From cult classics to modern thrillers, these zombie movies show just how undead cinema can still feel fresh, scary, and unforgettable.
The Cabin in the Woods's examination of tropes such as the use of stereotypical split-up situations when in danger and character archetypes illustrates the movie's awareness. However, the movie's surprising reveal fully embraces the genre's formulaic script, acting as a love letter to the mountains of horror movies that came before.
1 Shaun Of The Dead
Quintessential British Zombie Comedy
Shaun of the Dead
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- September 24, 2004
- Runtime
- 99 minutes
- Director
- Edgar Wright
- Cast
- Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran
- Budget
- $6.1 million
The British cult classic, Shaun of the Dead, the movie that put Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost on the map, is the ultimate horror movie that chooses not to take itself seriously. In a common theme with many of Wright's films, Shaun of the Dead's hilarious approach to the horror genre sees Pegg star as Shaun, a directionless man whose ambitions and needs leave his girlfriend reeling, while he and his lazy best friend Ed become stuck in a zombie apocalypse that intertwines with his personal life.
Shaun of the Dead, in particular, out of Wright's filmography, toes the line between comedy and seriousness, heavily evoking British humor and sensibilities to break up the horror elements of zombies that threaten society, with Pegg and Frost's often nonchalant buddy cop behavior turning the movie into a certified winner.
8 Scariest Japanese Horror Movies, Ranked
Fans who want to dive into Japanese horror can't go wrong with the following legendary movies.