Film

ThanksKilling

A horror-comedy where a homicidal turkey hunts college students during Thanksgiving break. It's deliberately cheap and cheerfully obscene, all rubber gore and one-liners delivered in a gravel voice. Made for people who find the premise funnier than any joke could be, and who think bad taste is its own reward.

TMDb rating2.0

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Tucker and Dale vs. Evil2010

Horror tropes get upended by two likeable hillbillies mistaken for killers. Sharp script, genuine laughs, and it respects both the comedy and the scares without choosing sides.

But If you need horror to actually frighten you, the joke lands harder than the threat. Relies on the audience being in on the premise from the start.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil poster

Rubber2010

A sentient killer tire terrorizes a desert town. Pure absurdist cinema that commits completely to its ridiculous concept and finds real artistry in the constraint. Genuinely unsettling.

But It's deliberately obtuse and slow-burn weird. If you're looking for plot coherence or conventional scares, you'll be frustrated.

Rubber poster

What We Do in the Shadows2014

Vampire roommates navigating flatshare life in Wellington. A mockumentary that finds endless humour in mundane domesticity and character detail. Endlessly quotable and warm beneath the comedy.

But The humour is dry and character-driven rather than punchline-based. Some find the pacing uneven; it requires you to be invested in the vampires themselves.

What We Do in the Shadows poster

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The wildcard

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Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead2006

Both films built entirely on the novelty of an animal killer, weaponising the absurdity of the premise as the only joke that matters. Both understand their budget and commit to the bit.

Zombified chickens attack a fast-food restaurant during protests. From Troma, the studio that makes intentionally terrible art—but with actual visual creativity, anarchic energy, and perverse confidence. Knows exactly what it is.

But Troma films are aggressively vulgar, with graphic gore and sexual content that exists to provoke, not thrill. It's offensive by design; if that reads as juvenile rather than liberating, don't bother.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead poster
More like this (7)

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi's gonzo horror-comedy where Bruce Campbell is pulverised by demons in ever-more creative ways. Slapstick violence, genuine scares, and a star completely committed to the chaos.

But The relentless tone whiplash between terror and silliness doesn't work for everyone. Some of the effects are dated; some think that adds to it, others find it distracting.

Evil Dead II poster

Freaky2020

A teenage girl swaps bodies with a serial killer. Clever premise executed with real craft: the comedy lands, the horror lands, and the young lead carries both halves with charisma and charm.

But It wants to be a slasher and a teen comedy simultaneously, which can feel tonally confused. Some violence is actually brutal in ways that clash with the lighter scenes.

Freaky poster

Slither2006

An alien parasite turns a small town into grotesque zombies. James Gunn finds the exact frequency between horror-movie tension and 80s action-comedy absurdity. Gorgeously gross.

But The body-horror is relentless and deeply icky. If practical creature effects of things bursting out of people make you queasy, this pushes that button hard.

Slither poster

Chopping Mall1986

Malfunctioning security robots turn a shopping mall into a killing ground. Peak 80s cheese: laser-eyed robots, toplessness, and a score that never stops winking. Utterly committed to its own nonsense.

But It's genuinely exploitative in the way 80s horror was. If you're uncomfortable with casual nudity used as plot device rather than character, this will irritate you.

Chopping Mall poster

The Babysitter2017

Supernatural thriller about a babysitter who turns out to be leading a cult. Stylish, kinetic editing; it treats horror violence like a music video and commits to the ridiculousness. Great cast chemistry.

But It's all style and momentum with thin plotting. If you need substantive character arcs or a coherent mythology, the sugar-rush approach might leave you empty.

The Babysitter poster

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon2006

A mockumentary following an aspiring slasher villain as he plans his first spree. Meta and clever, genuinely affectionate about horror while deconstructing its logic. It gets better as it goes.

But The first act is heavier on explanation than payoff. Takes time to warm up, and the tonal shift in act three alienates some people who wanted one thing throughout.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon poster

Dead Meat2004

Both are regional, no-budget horror comedies that succeed entirely on tone and commitment rather than resources. Both understand that a killer concept and a unified vision matter more than money.

Irish zombie film shot in Dublin with no budget. Deadpan Irish humour, genuine affection for the genre, and the kind of resourcefulness that makes constraints look like style. Charming because it doesn't know it should apologise.

But The technical limitations are real and visible. Shot on a shoestring with no professional crew; if you watch it as an artifact of resourcefulness it's endearing, but if you're expecting polish, it's frustrating.

Dead Meat poster

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