The 15 Best Parody Horror Movies of All Time

Horror films are filled with genre-defining tropes that have been mocked for years. These 15 films do the best job of parodying this beloved genre.

Horror films have been made since the very beginning of the medium. Filmmakers have gone to great lengths to scare their audiences for over a century, and in that time, several consistent tropes and oddities have arisen. Some, like the final girl, have defined the genre and evolved to create some incredibly powerful moments in great films. Others haven't aged nearly as well, such as the unfortunate realization that black characters tend to die first in many of these films. Whether good or bad, though, these tropes have defined much of the genre, and a good filmmaker knows when best to subvert them, poking fun at their ridiculousness.

With so many tropes and bizarre decisions, a whole new genre has arisen: the horror parody. These films are often comedic satires on the mainstays of the genre, playing with these concepts and attempting to draw attention to them. Some lean heavily on the worst of these tropes, attempting to showcase their worst elements, while others are loving homages to the best. These 15 films are some of the best horror parodies that have been made. While they may be funny, be ready for a few scares. These are horror movies, after all.

M3GAN released in January 2023, making it one of the newest films on this list, and since its release, the horror community has clamored for more of this terrifying artificial intelligence. The titular AI doll is created as the ultimate companion for children. Meant to protect and nurture, M3GAN goes the route of all killer dolls and artificial intelligences and takes her mandate way too far. In an attempt to protect Cady, her paired child, the prototype goes on a gruesome and often hilarious killing spree. Before long, Cady and the doll's creator, Gemma, realize how big of a mistake they made, just in time for Gemma's company to greenlight the mass production of the dolls.

M3GAN is a must-see film of 2023. Critics and fans alike adored the film, with it receiving a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With James Wan and Blumhouse Pictures behind its creation, there was going to be no question about the quality of its horror, but what most fans didn't expect was the humor at play in this film. The film openly critiques our modern reliance on technology, with M3GAN representing the growing fears of AI, and it also plays with tropes established in other killer doll movies like Chucky. This film has deserved its high praise, and as a horror parody, it succeeds in relating to us again that dolls are the most terrifying toy of all.

The horror genre does not have a great history with diversity. As mentioned earlier, there is a joke in pop culture that the black character always dies first, and that unfortunately is the case in many horror films, especially given their largely white casts. With a tagline like "We Can't All Die First," you know exactly where The Blackening stands on the issue. The story follows a group of friends who gather for a Juneteenth party. While staying in a cabin in the woods (worst choice, by far), they stumble across the title board game and are forced to play, answering questions about black history. With every question they get wrong, someone dies.

The Blackening's runtime is filled with tongue in cheek humor, tons of references to the horror genre, and biting critiques of the genre's treatment of black characters. The story isn't nearly as scary as other films on this list, and some of the humor doesn't always land, but the subject matter is incredibly important. Only recently has Hollywood really started to examine its history with diversity, and The Blackening is a perfect parody for the way it confronts these tropes. With an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Blackening stands as the newest must-watch film on this list, and its message is so important.

The original Piranha from 1978 seems like a pretty typical knock-off of Jaws, but the film did something that no one expected. It actually examined and mocked the aquatic horror juggernaut in one of the earlier examples of horror parody. Piranha 3D makes this list because it amplifies everything that made the original film great. It takes everything that worked for Piranha and goes bigger, funnier, and more bombastic, and with its release in 2010, it had over 30 years of extra content to mock and parody in new ways. The story isn't necessarily groundbreaking, but the humor helps it stand apart from other horror films.

The story follows the inhabitants of the small town of Lake Victoria, Arizona. A small earthquake hits the town that opens a chasm at the bottom of the lake, releasing a massive school of prehistoric, hyper-aggressive, and wildly hungry piranhas. After people start going missing, the town's sheriff contemplates closing the lake during her investigation, but given the number of tourists visiting for Spring Break, she decides to leave them be. This decision will result in the loss of several lives in overly gory scenes of horror as the piranhas continue their hunt.

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If the Texas Chain Saw Massacre taught us anything, hillbillies in the middle of nowhere need to be feared. After all, every one of them is a stark, raving lunatic, right? Wrong, and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is an incredible parody film that examines this strange trope. Tucker and Dale are two hillbilly best friends who have bought their ideal vacation house. While buying supplies to fix up the run-down cabin in the woods, the pair manages to scare a group of vacationing college kids. Fueled by scary stories, the students believe the pair are murderous psychopaths, and through a series of accidents, they only become more convinced.

Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is one of the funniest horror parodies in years. The way the movie plays with the psychopathic loner tropes of the genre is brilliant. The title characters are well-meaning and lovable, but their appearance and demeanor sometimes come off as aggressive. The college kids have every reason to believe that they are out to get them, especially as they start dying off. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine do a fantastic job as the leads, and the film's humor feels fresh among horror parodies. This isn't a horror movie, but it leans into the genre's tropes to tell a funny, bloody story.

While the Chucky franchise never took itself too seriously, the first few films in the genre were straight horror with only a little of the expected humor. Bride of Chucky changed all of that, transforming the series into a humorous parody of the many of the tropes that it inspired. The story follows Chucky as his doll form is brought back to life by his girlfriend, Tiffany. After a fight, Chucky kills Tiffany and traps her soul in another doll. Chucky reveals that they can transfer their souls to new bodies by retrieving an amulet on his body, so they trick fiancées Jessie and Jade into transporting the dolls to the site of his death. Hijinks, calamity, and bloody deaths follow in their wake.

Bride of Chucky takes the formula popularized by the earlier films in the series and takes it on the road, bringing the death and mayhem across America. The film isn't the greatest story in horror, but it leads to some brilliantly funny moments that play with the tropes of the killer doll genre. In a way, the film puts Chucky and Tiffany, the monsters, in the starring role, allowing viewers to see into their devious minds and demented personalities. The movie is a great parody of the series as a whole, and many agree that it is one of the best in the franchise.

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder hit cultural gold with their 1974 release of Young Frankenstein. Archived in the National Film Registry, adapted into a stage musical, and ranked as one of the funniest movies of all time on dozens of lists, Young Frankenstein is a brilliant, hilarious parody of the classic Universal Pictures monster films. Following a young Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen, thank you very much), the story sees the doctor inheriting his great-grandfather's estate in Transylvania. There, he discovers his ancestor Victor's work and decides to try his hand at reanimating the dead.

Young Frankenstein is beloved, and for good reason. It is by far one of the funniest films on this list, and it tackles several of the tropes established by Mary Shelley's original work and the subsequent decades of adaptations. There are references to the Universal and Hammer Horror film adaptations abound, and the film plays with themes of intelligence and fame in interesting ways. Despite his desire to distance himself from his ancestor's work, Frederick fully embraces the Frankenstein name by the end of the film, but also makes up for many of the failures of his forefather. This film is comedy gold, and it has truly earned its place on this list.

The '70s and '80s were packed full of alien invasion films. With Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the original The Thing, Alien, and Predator bringing extraterrestrials into our homes, it only made sense that someone would attempt to mock the genre. In 1988, Stephen Chiodo did just that with the release of Killer Klowns from Outer Space. In the town of Crescent Cove, a mysterious spaceship crashes, and all who investigate find a bizarre circus tent structure in the middle of a field. From the tent, Klowns escape to capture the townspeople, trapping them in gelatinous cocoons.

With the upcoming release of the asymmetric video game Killer Klowns from Outer Space, now is the perfect time to reexamine this bizarre, hilarious film. The reason this movie works is that it never once takes itself too seriously. Every weapon the Klowns employ is a weird amalgamation of science-fiction tech and circus food. You even see the Klowns manipulating reality, shrinking people down to the size of popcorn. It's a truly goofy film, but as long as you can acknowledge the humor of it, the film promises a fantastic journey and deconstruction of the alien invasion subgenre.

Happy Death Day is the type of movie that shouldn't work. It's a bizarre, cheesy mix of Groundhog Day with the slasher horror genre. On paper, this sounds too dumb to work. However, this film pulls it off brilliantly. It isn't the best story on this list, but its examination of the genre, namely the tropes of the final girl and the mysterious masked killer (seriously, someone in a baby mask shouldn't be that scary), truly helps this film stand out in the sea of slasher films. It is also a brilliant examination of time loop tropes, making it a double whammy of a parody film.

While most of the answers come in the second installment of the series, Happy Death Day 2 U, Happy Death Day sets up the story of Theresa "Tree" Gelbman, a college student who is forced to relive her birthday over and over again. Each day plays out exactly the same, with a masked killer murdering her from the shadows. Each day, she attempts to avoid her death, but that only delays the inevitability. Everything that Tree tries is futile, with the horror destined to happen. It's a fascinating way to examine the death factory that the genre has become, seeing how it drives this final girl crazy in her attempts to survive.

The history of horror parody and comedy is actually extensive, with some films dating back to the early days of the genre. While there are plenty of contenders for early parody horror, The Comedy of Terrors from 1963 makes this list because of how unique it is. The story follows Waldo Trumbull, the unhappy, drunk owner of a funeral parlor. With business failing and rent due, Trumbull decides to drum up a little business. He begins moonlighting as a serial killer, killing wealthy patrons whose families Trumbull can charge a premium for funeral services. As the title suggests, things continue to get more and more out of hand as Trumbull's murders get more complicated.

The Comedy of Terrors essentially flips the horror genre on its head, exploring the life of the killer instead of the survivors. Trumbull is a failure at best, managing to botch as many murders as he succeeds. It's a fun twist on the genre, and it's presented in a mature but accessible way. This is more comedy than horror, even if it presents several critiques of horror as a whole. It's a 1960s movie, so there isn't anything particularly obscene about the film, especially in terms of gore or sexual content. This means that, despite some mature story arcs, the film is a great introduction to horror parody for many different audiences.

There have been few bigger influences on horror comedy than Scary Movie. Immature, racy, and stupidly funny, the original movie in the franchise is one of the best. While the sequels faced a steep decline, very few can deny the impact the original film had. A parody of Scream and several other popular horror icons, Scary Movie follows a group of teens hunted by a wannabe Ghostface. This bizarre character has evidence that the group accidentally killed someone the summer before, and in a series of events that gets stranger and more ludicrous, the teens are killed one by one.

Looking back, Scary Movie hasn't aged the best. Some of its humor feels particularly dated, and the character arcs are largely nonexistent, with the focus largely diverted to the next joke. However, as a parody of slashers, Scary Movie is a brilliant film. The use of a Ghost Face lookalike, the stupid and sudden twists that echo popular stories, and the raunchy sex and violence are all perfect analogs to the horror genre, exaggerated for intense effect. The film is insane in the best way, and it helped propel the horror parody forward into the modern day.

Michael Keaton has a number of famous roles in his filmography, but likely his most memorable is the lead ghost of Beetlejuice. Not nearly as raunchy or sexualized as Scary Movie, Beetlejuice brought a huge dose of personality and its own personal brand of dark humor to the horror parody genre. The film sees the titular bio-exorcist hired by a pair of spirits forced to haunt their former home. A new family has moved in, and the couple wants to drive the new residents out. However, they get far more than they wanted when Beetlejuice arrives on the scene and injects the home with his personal brand of ghostly chaos.

Beetlejuice is fondly remembered by nearly every fan of horror. The film launched the career of Winona Ryder, and it created one of the biggest icons of pop culture. With astounding practical effects and a brilliant, comedic plot, Beetlejuice still holds up today as a great film. However, as a horror parody, there are few better. The entire spiritual world is filled with references and fun twists on the horror genre. In the world of Beetlejuice, the ghosts aren't necessarily the bad guys, giving us some room to witness the personalities of the big players. This gives the film plenty of opportunity to twist the most well-known tropes and transform them into comedy gold.

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The first installment in Edgar Wright's famous "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy, Shaun of the Dead is an absolute icon of the genre. Simon Pegg stars as Shaun, a down-on-his-luck salary man whose love and personal lives are falling apart. The only person that he has in the world is his weed-dealing best friend, Ed. However, when the zombie apocalypse rages onto the streets of London, Shaun is determined to save his ex-girlfriend, his mother, and his best friend from the undead hordes. What follows is a raucous, hilarious adventure through every zombie apocalypse trope that is equal parts comedy and emotional roller-coaster.

Pegg and Wright knocked it out of the park with the script for Shaun of the Dead. The film carries a trademark sheen of cheesiness, meant to amplify the humor of the story. The metaphors are all there and have been famously examined, especially how Shaun represents how humanity wasn't that different from zombies to begin with. However, it is the way the movie digs into zombie films, referencing and poking fun at the best and worst of the genre, that earns it a spot on this list. Shaun of the Dead is a brilliant zombie comedy, and other than Hot Fuzz and The World's End, there aren't any comedies quite like this one.

It was mentioned at the beginning that horror parodies didn't need to be comedies. Some of the best in the genre are just as scary as the films they satirize. Scream is simply the most famous. The story revolves around horror trivia and the Ghost Face killer's obsession with the genre, as well as other characters referencing horror films and how to survive them. The movie is all one big reference and parody of the genre, just one with a sharp and bloody edge. This is true horror, homaging other horrors in a way that has made Ghost Face just as iconic as other horror legends.

The film follows the residents of Woodsboro, California. After receiving a mysterious phone call from Ghost Face, Casey Becker is brutally murdered outside of her home. Sidney Prescott, still reeling from the death of her mother, is the killer's next target. Joining with her friends, Prescott and the others attempt to survive Ghost Face's deadly onslaught, but the revelation of the killer's identity is a twist so sudden and jarring that it has gone down in horror history. Scream is a brilliant example of what can be done with horror parody, proving that the satire can be just as terrifying as the source.

In 1981, Sam Raimi released the original Evil Dead. Starring Bruce Campbell as Ashley Williams, the film followed a group of friends vacationing in a cabin in the woods. After discovering a hidden book made from human skin, the friends released demons into the world. Ash was changed by his ordeal, and by his return in Army of Darkness, he'd gotten much more used to killing Deadites. The film sees Ash traveling through time with his shotgun and chainsaw in hand. In the time of King Arthur, Ash discovers that the Deadite plague has followed him to the Middle Ages. In order to return home, he must find the Necronomicon and defeat the Deadite army.

Army of Darkness is where Sam Raimi really started to differentiate the series from the rest of the horror genre. Even more so than Evil Dead, Army of Darkness is considered a classic because of how weird it gets. This dark fantasy comedy hits the ground running, leaning into its ludicrous story arc with full commitment. This leads to a series of events that play into the tropes of the horror genre and then subverts them. Ashley Williams himself is a fantastic parody protagonist. Where most horror heroes are largely unable to fight back against their monsters, Ash is all about taking the fight to the Deadites. It almost calls into question the efficacy of other protagonists.

Cabin in the Woods is the quintessential horror parody movie, thus, it likely needs no introduction. While the beginning of the film introduces it as a generic, run-of-the-mill horror movie set in the stereotypical horror setting, the film grows into something so much larger. It becomes a parody of the genre as a whole, of the act of watching these people suffer. The story takes a turn into intense meta-fiction. The viewer learns that a group of teens needs to suffer at the hands of a horror monster every year, or ancient deities will destroy the Earth. The sacrifices need to follow certain criteria, each a major trope of the horror genre.

References to nearly every major horror franchise, from killer clowns to a giant snake to a tortured, demonic entity similar to Pinhead, make an appearance in the underground lab where these horrors are orchestrated. This leads to one of the most satisfying ending to a horror movie, with the monsters rampaging through the lab, killing off what is essentially the proxy viewers and directors. We also see several references to other country's representations of the horror genre, with screens showcasing Japanese rituals and discussion of a Switzerland mission gone awry. This film is a perfect horror parody, and it needs to be seen by every fan of the genre.