5 Popular Horror Comedy Films of the 80s

Horror comedy is growing in popularity it seems like, and the 80s has some of the best! Here are five of some of the most popular ones from the 80s. If you have not seen some or any of these, then what are you waiting for? Have yourself an 80s horror comedy marathon!

'The Evil Dead' (1981)

Evil Dead was released in 1981 and is one of those horror comedies that set the tone for this genre. This movie was directed/written by Sam Raimi and starred Bruce Campbell. This movie is what put Bruce Campbell on the map! Evil Dead was originally going to be entitled “The Book of the Dead.”

Evil Dead starts out like a lot of horror movies with a group of young adults who head off to a remote cabin in the woods. Then they quickly stumble upon a strange looking book and an audio tape. They make the mistake of playing the tape that has some of the incantations spoken aloud which awakens the evil. This leads to them fighting for their lives to survive and send the evil back where it came from.

'Creepshow' (1982)

Creepshow was released in 1982 and directed by George A. Romero. As with Romero’s tradition, Creepshow was filmed in and around the Pittsburg area. You may know that this anthropology film was written by Stephen King which made this his debut in screenwriting. Creepshow was created with the goal to show admiration towards horror comics from the 1950s. There was comic book-like effects in the movie.

This film consisted of five short stories: “Father’s Day", "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", "Something to Tide You Over", "The Crate", and "They're Creeping Up on You." There is also a prologue and the epilogue in Creepshow.

'Gremlins' (1984)

The film Gremlins was released in 1984 it was directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus. The film was a success in the box office and received a lot of positive reviews. On the flip side, Gremlins was criticized a lot for the violent scenes in the film. There were gremlin toys and video games released following the films’ success which fans were happy to receive. Gremlins brand cereal was even a product for a while, which starred Gizmo on the front of the box.

Gremlins is about a man who gets this small creature called a Mogwai. He is informed that he is to follow three simple rules: no food after midnight, do not get the Mogwai wet, and no bright lights. Rules get broken, and the cute creature transforms into an evil monster.

'The Return of the Living Dead' (1985)

The film Return of the Living Dead was released in 1985 it was directed by Dan O’Bannon. The Return of the Living Dead has turned into a cult classic. This film is given the credit for introducing zombies as brain eaters compared to their previous portrayals as flesh eaters. There is a novel by John Russo with the same name as this film, but there is hardly any resemblance to the novel, as Dan O’Bannon completely rewrote the previous script for the film when he came on board. Another fact of the film is that it was filmed in California despite it taking place in Kentucky.

The summary for Return of the Living Dead is as follows. Two employees that work at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air. This gas causes the people who die to re-animate, and all they want are the brains of the living people in Louisville, Kentucky.

'Beetlejuice' (1988)

Beetlejuice was released in 1988, and it was directed by Tim Burton. Michael McDowell wrote the original script for Beetlejuice, but it was later rewritten by Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren. Beetlejuice has a large cult following, which is no surprise after how well the film was received by viewers and critics alike. The film did so well that there was an animated series created. Also, video games have been produced, theme park attractions created, and a stage musical made.

The film is about the couple Adam and Barbara, who are dead. They were peacefully “living” in there when a family moves in and disrupts their plans. They try many different attempts to get the new residents to leave, but nothing works so they call upon the help of Beetlejuice. Unfortunately, Beetlejuice has other plans in mind.