Bankers and investors are probably among the most hated people around right now. So why not make yourself feel a bit better and watch those financial suits go bankrupt, get robbed or reveal their homicidal tendencies hollywood style!

Credit crunch. Global recession. Whatever you call it, there’s a lot less expendable cash around right now and lots of people are very nervous about the future. More and more people are opting not to go out and spend money on theatre tickets and expensive dinners. Instead, they’re staying in with a movie and a bottle of wine.

But what movies to watch during this time of financial crisis? Given much of the blame is placed on the banks for getting us into this mess, perhaps it’s the perfect time to take stock of some of the greatest banking movies of all time. In many of these films reviewed below the people who are for the banks end up becoming figures of fun, so sit back, open your popcorn, and have a good laugh at some unlucky bankers losing loads of money.

1. Other People’s Money (1991)

Danny DeVito plays Larry the Liquidator, a super-rich, arrogant, greedy, self-centred and ruthless business man. He’s the perfect character for a comedy banking movie. As he threatens a hostile take-over of a family-run company, the patriarch of the company enlists the help of his wife’s daughter, who is a lawyer, to try and protect their interests.

Larry enjoys sparring with her legal prowess, but does also fall for her. Of course he does – this is a comedy, right? In the end he has to decide whether he’s driven most by love or money. Director: Norman Jewison Stars: Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, Penelope Ann Miller

2. Wall Street (1987)

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is an ambitious Wall Street stockbroker in the 1980s. Any spare time he has is spent working an on angle with which to approach the high-powered, extremely successful broker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Fox finally meets with the greedy Gekko, who takes the youth under his wing and explains his philosophy: Greed is Good.

Taking this advice and working closely with Gekko, Fox soon finds himself swept into a world of yuppies, shady business deals, fast money, and fast women – something at odds with his family values. Director: Oliver Stone Stars: Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Michael Douglas

3. Rogue Trader (1999)

This movie charts the true story of Barings Bank clerk and ambitious wide-boy Nick Leeson. Through a series of peculiar coincidences, he finds himself in Singapore setting up the bank’s future options trading operation. To save money Barings allows Nick to operate both the floor trading and the back office facilities and forces him to employ cheap, unskilled staff. Of course, Nick breaks trading rules and secretly covers up some losses, but his initial reports back to the bank are of success.

Given more freedom, even more money and continuing unchecked, Nick makes bigger losses and again attempts to trade out of them. But after a series of huge losses and irresponsible gambling of other people’s money he manages to bankrupt the entire institution. A lesson in how not to trade. Director: James Dearden Stars: Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel

4. Boiler Room (2000)

Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) is an enterprising college dropout, running his own small illegal casino. The disapproval of his domineering father leads Seth to a career change into the investment business with a bunch of cocky, young Turks who seem to be making a lot more money than they should on mysterious investments pushed through aggressive cold calling.

At the same time, he finds a relationship forming with firm secretary, Abbie (Nia Long), who as luck would have it, was also formerly pursued by his new boss, which adds to the tensions of the high pressure job and mysterious profits. Director: Ben Younger Stars: Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel, Giovani Ribisi, Nia Long

5. The Italian Job (1969)

Everyone loves a good bank robbery movie, of which the The Italian Job is quite possibly the finest and most famous.

This infamous comedy movie tells the story of an ex-con who tries to steal $4 million in gold by causing a major traffic jam in the centre of Turin.

With its mini coopers, jaguars, bus and famous one-liners, this is a true British film classic. Director: Peter Collinson Stars: Michael Caine, Noel Coward

6. Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

This true story is set in San Francisco in 1981. Christopher Gardner has big dreams for his family, but it just never seems to work out. He invests the family savings in new bone-density scanning technology – apparatus twice as expensive as x-ray with practically the same resolution.

The white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to Gardner’s relationship with his wife. Without money and wife, but totally committed with his son, Christopher sees the chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, disputing for one career in the end of six months training period without any salary with other twenty candidates. Meanwhile, homeless, he has all sorts of difficulties with his son. Does he find happiness? Director: Gabriele Muccino Stars: Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Dan Castellaneta

7. American Psycho (2000)

This isn’t necessarily a banking movie, more a movie about a banking character. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a wealthy 26-year-old, succesful investment banker in New York. He’s well-educated, intelligent and has more money than he knows what to do with: this is a guy who couldn’t care any less about cash back credit cards.

But there’s a terrible dark side to his personality as by night he turns into a homicidal monster whose hatred for the world leads him into murderous chaos. The movie is based on a novel by Brett Easton Ellis. The graphic scenes of sex and violence in the movie are much more tame than in the original book. Director: Mary Harron Stars: Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto

8. Barbarians at the Gate (1993)

This comedy television movie tells the story of an eager tobacco business CEO who plans to buy out the rest of the shareholders in his firm. After a series of confusing deals and potential takeovers, the tenders get messier (and funnier) as the zeros keep getting added. The film follows the actual takeover of the RJR Nabisco empire in a tongue in cheek way. The film’s tagline was, aptly: after a power breakfast they’ll still eat you for lunch. Director: Glenn Jordan Stars: James Garner, Jonathan Pryce

9. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie (small town girl) and Clyde (drifting bank robber) dream of lives that will free them from the Depression of the 1920s. The two fall in love and begin a banking crime spree from Oklahoma to Texas. They rob small banks with skill and panache, soon becoming minor celebrities known across the country.

People are proud to have been held up by Bonnie and Clyde: to their victims, the duo is doing what nobody else has the guts to do, but to the law, the two are evil bank robbers who deserve to be gunned down where they stand. An American classic. Director: Arthur Penn Stars: Warren Featty, Faye Dunnaway, Gene Hackman

10. The Bank Job (2008)

In September 1971, thieves tunneled into the vault of a bank in London’s Baker Street and looted safe deposit boxes of cash and jewelry worth over three million pounds. None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. The robbery made headlines for a few days and then disappeared – the result of a ‘D’ Notice, gagging the press. This film reveals what was hidden for the first time. The story involves murder, corruption and a sex scandal with links to the Royal Family – a story in which the thieves were the most innocent people involved.

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CASABLANCA – Love, war, intrigue… all woven into the tapestry of a movie is perhaps what makes ‘Casablanca’ stand out as one of those timeless classics. It speaks about love, marriage and infidelity. The tried and tested recipe for the perfect romance.

Casablanca (1942) is an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

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Typically, the children in horror movies are either the unwilling messengers of doom or are evil themselves. Either way, the dialogue these kids have to spout is usually pretty eerie and often not something you’d want to hear coming out of the mouths of babes.

Here’s a look at 9 chilling quotes spoken by children in some of our favorite horror/thriller films.

Poltergeist

“They’re here …”

Is there any more classic moment than when Carol Anne turns away from the static TV and says to Craig T. Nelson, “They’re here”? The sing-song delivery, the creepy little toe-headed kid, everything about the scene is unnerving. The reality of what happened to Poltergeist star Heather O’Rourke only adds to the enduring scariness. The sad thing is that the scene is now being used to sell cable TV, which seems a crass and careless way to tread on someone’s memory.

The Sixth Sense

Of course, the most famous of the creepy little kids of the last decade is Haley Joel Osmet in The Sixth Sense, when he imparted those famous words to Bruce Willis, “I see dead people.” Coming at about the midway point of the film, those four little words explain what has been going on in the film, and opens the door for the much larger surprise that comes at the end. A lot of people would argue that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has been making the same film ever since and that none of his other films have lived up to the promise of that first success, but if nothing else, he has given us one of the most memorable film experiences ever.

The Shining

While Jack Nicholson’s psychotic axe-wielding family man Jack Torrance managed to scare the crap out of us — and has one of the greatest movies lines ever with “Here’s Johnny!” — it was really Jack’s young son Danny who had the most chilling scenes of the film. In this Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, a writer takes a job as the winter caretaker at what turns out to be a haunted hotel. After Jack, his wife, and their young son Danny move into the hotel, it’s revealed that the young boy has “the shining,” an ability to see ghosts. Eventually, Danny begins to repeatedly chant “redrum” in a deep voice while holding a knife in one hand while writing the word in red lipstick on a door with the other — that’s creepy enough. It becomes even more chilling when we find out what “redrum” actually means.

The Exorcist

There are so many chilling and iconic moments packed into Linda Blair’s performance as the possessed Regan MacNeil that choosing just one singular moment is pretty difficult. Nearly every moment of dialogue that takes place between Father Karras and Regan during the Exorcism scenes are far beyond mere disturbing. Most of the gems concern Karras’s mother, like “Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.” and the infamous “Your mother sucks cocks in Hell…”, or even parroting his Mother’s dementia-filled agony with “Why you do this to me, Dimi? Please Dimi, I’m afraid.” Yet for me the creepiest bit in the film takes place before the actual possession at her mom’s cocktail party. Amid the festivities of a piano-fueled singalong Regan pulls a true show-stopper when after being put to bed she returns to the party and sidles up to an Astronaut (we should all have one Astronaut buddy). In a monotonous deadpan Regan say “You’re gonna die up there.” followed by her letting loose a load of piss on the rug. Now, a little girl in pajamas telling a spaceman he’s gonna be orbital toast the day before his launch is eerie enough, but that piss-filled encore takes the moment beyond mere creepy and into utra-disturbing territory.

Interview With The Vampire

Little Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) is a beautiful girl perfectly dressed and coiffed, just like the numerous dolls that decorate her room. But she’ll never be truly happy, because she’s a child vampire who’ll live forever, yet never grow into a woman. This is the one thing she desires — so much so, amongst her dolls she hides the corpse of a female victim she wanted to emulate, which prompts a heated argument with her “father” and maker Lestat (Tom Cruise). Seemingly to make up for the fight, little Claudia brings Lestat twin boys to fed on, concealing that the boys are already dead — and drinking from the dead is a big vampire no-no. To coax Lestat to drink, Claudia so sweetly says “I promise I’ll get rid of the bodies.” Lestat takes the bait, which allows Claudia to finish him off. This “child” may seem innocent and look like a little angel, but underneath it all, she’s the deadliest of them all.

The Good Son

Macaulay Culkin was on a meteoric rise in the early 1990s with the success of the first two Home Alone movies, so it might not have been the best idea for the child star to headline the 1993 thriller The Good Son as the “bad son.” Culkin’s Henry goes far beyond spilling some milk. He’s an innocent-looking boy with malicious intent and no conscience. He will harm with no remorse. The film’s climatic scene is truly a cliffhanger: After trying to kill his own mother, Susan, Henry hangs from a cliff alongside his “good” cousin Mark (Elijah Wood). Holding one boy in each hand, Susan tries to pull them both to safety when Henry tells her, “Mom, I need your other hand” leaving Susan with the dilemma of who to save — her innocent nephew or her evil son?

Damien: Omen II

The 1970s loved to pair children with the devil, as we saw with The Exorcist. But with The Omen, instead of the child being possessed by the Devil, this 1976 horror film centered around the spawn of Satan — the Antichrist. While the original film was frightening enough, Satan’s son Damien was just a small child who didn’t say much. But in the 1978 sequel, Damien still doesn’t know of his true nature, until he begins to come of age and starts to feel a change. When he finds out that the AntiChrist has a 666 birthmark, he checks his scalp and discovers he has it. As horrifying as the gruesome deaths in the movie were, it’s Damien’s discovery of his true Satanic heritage — complete with an anguished “Why me?” — that’s truly bone-chilling.

Pet Semetary

For me personally, it does not get any more terrifying than adorable little Gage from Pet Semetary. If the horror of your baby son being hit by a speeding 18-wheeler isn’t enough to begin with, this little one is buried in then that wacky cemetery. A little bit of Monkey’s Paw later, well, we all know what happens there… back comes little Gage, only quite different now. That kid, with his little outfits and his knife and tiny high-pitched voice is enough to make me weep, especially when he’s bringing a knife to his mother, saying “I brought you something, Mommy” as if it will be a sweet surprise for her.

Children of the Corn

Let’s face it, the entire premise of Children of the Corn and its numerous sequels is one big creepy-children horror fest, from its brainwashed children with pitchforks chanting “KILL!” to its charismatic child leader Isaac and his eerie preaching about the evil god of corn known as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” While driving through Nebraska, Linda Hamilton and the guy from 30 Something have a run-in with the murderous children who sacrifice adults to the evil corn god. When Isaac has a disagreement with his right-hand man Malachai, the latter has Isaac crucified as a sacrifice to their god. As Isaac awaits death on the corn cross, he spouts off about how he is the giver of “His” word and how the children will pay for their treachery and disobedience to Isaac’s teachings. After his death, in true biblical form, Isaac is resurrected. Looking like he just put his finger in an electrical socket, the prophet Isaac returns to bring vengeance from their God to Malachai. In a possessed voice, the young Isaac tells his betrayer, “He wants you too, Malachai.”

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We’re not sure how they’ve done it, but by some dastardly karmic injustice these 10 a-holes have made successful careers for themselves as comedians by… being about as funny as putting your dog to sleep. For whatever idiotic reason, everyone went along with the shams long enough to make these people into celebrities. We’re not saying we could do their jobs better, we’re just saying it wouldn’t have been hard to find someone who could. So without further adieu – The Top 10 Most Unfunny Comedians of All Time.

If you want to see full list please go to COED Magazine.  Thank you!

Too often a horror movie fails so badly that the only redeeming qualities come from the few moments that make one laugh. That doesn’t make it a good movie though, does it? Intent is the ultimate key, does a filmmaker deliberately set out to make a comedic horror film, or is the humor the mere residue of awkward mishaps and poor execution? If it’s the latter; then a litany of films would extend out into infinity. Forget all that. We’re more interested in movies that are not only meant to simultaneously scare and make a person laugh, but the ones that are most effective in their power to do so. Here’s our list of the 27 all time best horror comedies.

#27: Fright Night
Year: 1985
As the apex of slasher horror struck the mid-80s, a refreshingly funny take on the vampire film called Fright Night came out. Director Tom Holland (Child’s Play) bases his story around a teen who can’t find anyone to believe that a vampire is living next door. He turns to a washed up horror film actor and vampire expert (Roddy McDowall) who now hosts a late night horror show called “Fright Night.” The first half of the film is more like a teen comedy, the latter half slipping into more sinister subjects with some gnarly make up and FX work by the squad that did the same for Ghostbusters. Aside from William Ragsdale as the teen Charley, who looks exactly like Dallas QB Tony Romo, the film features Chris Sarandon, Stephen Geoffreys, and a pre-Marcy Darcy Amanda Bearse. You add all that with a painful ’80s soundtrack and some smoked ham performances, Fright Night’s a good time out!

#26: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Year: 1992
Okay, so the only scary thing here might be seeing an amputated Pee Wee Herman in long hair with a dirty goatee, but if for no other reason than its longevity, the film has to be mentioned. Joss Whedon’s story of a valley girl chosen to, well slay vampires, put him at the forefront of pop culture kitsch as a mega spin-off series enjoyed a seven year stint on the air. It’s interesting to note that the hit series was developed off of Whedon’s original film script, not the finished film itself. If nothing else, the flicks serves as a who’s who spotting game of up and coming talent where credits such as two time Oscar winner Hilary Swank’s film debut, a young David Arquette, and a pre-Milton Stephen Root can be seen. Look even harder and you can spot tiny cameos by Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake and Thomas Jane.

#25: Arachnophobia
Year: 1990
Tapping into many a person’s worst nightmare, Arachnophobia is extremely effective in combining horrific special FX with a brand of low key humor. The film, about a deadly strain of South American spider who hitches a ride to the U.S. in a coffin, does an admirable job of integrating real spiders with fake ones in undetectable fashion. The catcher’s mitt sized spider (a type of bird eating tarantula with 8? leg span) nests in newly arrived doctor Ross Jennings’(Jeff Daniels) barn, mating until a nascent host of babies threatens their small California town. There’s some legitimate shiver inducing moments that tap right into the heart of such a ubiquitous phobia. The movie works well because it doesn’t have to try too hard to generate the scares, most of which handled with delicate humor and involving the always hilarious John Goodman as a local don’t-take-no-shit exterminator.

#24: Night of the Creeps
Year: 1986
Perhaps the most satirical and self-reflexive flick on our list, the criminally underappreciated Night of the Creeps has yet to even see a DVD release. Actually perhaps because of it’s esoteric nature, many people failed to realize the 2006 film Slither is shameless yet glorified remake, and not as funny. A breed of alien slugs slime their way into the mouth of human hosts, morphing them into mind altered zombies who know nothing but how to feed and reproduce. This lampoon has some solid FX and an even better sense of humor. The laconic Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) delivers well written lines with such little enthusiasm that you can’t help but a laugh, and a lot. Many of the principal actors are literally named after genre greats like Romero, Carpenter, Hooper, Landis, Cameron, Cronenberg and Raimi; poking fun at the horror world and doing so with some nifty spine tingling gross out sequences. Find this movie, or petition Tri-Star for a release if they’re still in business!

#23: The Lost Boys
Year: 1987
The ’80s cheese factor was never more palpable than in hit or miss director Joel Shumacher’s The Lost Boys. When a down trodden family moves to Santa Carla, a young clan of motorcycling blood suckers set out to consume the family and add them to their immortal way of life. But the oldest son Michael (Jason Patric), once semi-infected, bands his family together in a determined effort to rid the vampires for good. Along with funny turns by the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman), the film features Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Jamie Gertz, Kiefer Sutherland (in maybe his best film work), and a scene stealing performance by screen veteran Barnard Hughes as the crusty old hippy grandfather. While light on any substantial gore, the film struck a popular cord in audiences, catering to the MTV generation with its soundtrack and “in style” fashion sense.

#22: Basket Case
Year: 1982
With an ostensible wad of about 80 bucks, Basket Case is super low budget filmmaking at its most entertaining. With a perfectly pitch black comedy about a young country man named Duane who checks into a NY motel with a large basket and nothing else, this film is unquestionably one of the more outlandish on our list. For inside the basket lays the mutilated remains of his Siamese twin brother Belial, grossly bloodied, twisted, and still breathing. As revenge, Duane is hell bent on cutting down the doctors responsible for their separation. Directed by Frank Henelotter (Brain Damage, Frankenhooker, either of which could’ve also made the list), the film is sick and disturbing, completely off the wall in every way imaginable. The key is that a wry sense of humor is held intact throughout, never getting too extreme in its shock value. The film stars Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner and Robert Vogel. Not to be missed!

#21: Critters
Year: 1986
In what can be viewed as a b-side companion piece to Gremlins, director Stephen Herek (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead) takes the violent comic gore up a notch with his first feature, Critters. Here, a rural farm land is ravaged by a faction of grubby little space beasts out to eat any and everything they can. A team headed by a first rate drunk includes local bounty hunter types seeing to it that the little bastards don’t overtake their land. You know for 1986, some decent puppet/animatronic work is on display. Silly, wild, full of energy, the film is a true joy to watch! Starring Dee Wallace, great character actor M. Emmett Walsh, B-movie stalwart Billy Zane and the always entertaining Lin Shaye, Critters is a worthy entry into the heart comic horror entertainment.

#20: Toxic Avenger
Year: 1985
The unequivocal banner Troma effort, Lloyd Kaufman gives us the geekiest-turned-badass-super-antihero in The Toxic Avenger. Melvin, an ultra-nerdy pool boy drools too hard over a hot blonde, and as a result is tossed out of a window, where he lands in a steaming vat of radioactive green sludge. He mutates, bulks up, and seeks revenge as a sort of demented alter ego to Bruce Banner’s Incredible Hulk. With not only vengeance on his mind, Toxie is honestly out to eradicate all evil doers, from street hoods to corporate fat cats. Dark comedy with low budget grit, there’s no wonder why this film spawned three sequels over two or so decades. Starring Mitch Cohen in the titular part, and Andree Maranda as the ditzy blinded blonde, and the hysterical Gary Schneider as a vehicular-man-slaughter-and-liking-it psychopath. Oh, and see if you can spot a young Marissa Tomei in a tiny cameo as she exits a shower. A must see all around!

#19: Tremors
Year: 1990
Tremors is a funny ass movie! Clearly an homage to 1950s sci-fi monster B-movies, the flick focuses on a band of tiny town desert natives who must ward off a host of gigantic worm-like creatures dwelling beneath the ground. It’s a throwback flick where the main characters never question the origin or culprit of their assailants. As soon as Val and Earl’s plans to leave town are foiled, and people begin mysteriously dying, they waste no time jumping right into combat with the “graboids.” Kevon Bacon and Fred Ward mix chemistry with camp cult humor and when you combine that with Michael Gross (of Family Ties fame, who would appear in 3 following sequels) as the NRA bound arsenal addict really puts this one over the top. Fast paced, action crammed, bloody, this picture is the poor man’s Jaws, only in the desert!

#18: The ‘burbs
Year: 1989
Horror vet Joe Dante’s twisted view of a paranoia plagued suburban neighborhood is nothing short of splendid. After the Klopecks, an oddly reclusive and despondent foreign family, take residence in the cryptic mansion at the end of their end of the block, a group of concerned friendlies band together to figure what the hell is going on. In the vein of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers, fear of the other is a breeding ground for hysteria, panic and horrific imagination. Before Tom Hanks was winning back to back Oscars, he co-starred in this film with Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman and Cathy Fisher (Dern and Ducommun give indelible performances as a crude slob and an ex-military man out to prove the eerie family is indeed evil incarnate). One of my favorite all time films, it boasts some great dialogue and excellent casting with Henry Gibson, Dick Miller, Courtney Gains and Nicky Katt.

#17: Gremlins
Year: 1984
Easily Joe Dante’s most successful film also happens to be another horror comedy, Gremlins. The movie’s about a teen who as a gift receives an odd species of pet called a mogwai, and after neglecting the rules of its care, witnesses the spawning of a vicious litter of pint sized killer monsters that are out inhabit the quaint little town. Most of the humor is split between the cute looking but awkward mogwai, and the save brutality of the gremlins as they dispose all those in their path. Starring Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, Phoebe Cates, and a young Corey Feldman, it’s hard to imagine a comic horror list without this flick. Although co-responsible (along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) for the inception of the deplorable PG-13 rating system, it’s not quite enough to keep Gremlins off our list.

#16: From Dusk Till Dawn
Year: 1996
Before Clooney was dropping girlies’ satins, he was busy staking bloodsucking fiends in the heart. Rodriguez and Tarantino’s “drive in” story of two bank robbing brothers on the run spins 180 degrees and lands in the vampire realm; where Seth (Clooney) and Ritchie (Tarantino) Gecko take a family hostage as way to sneak across the Mexican border. What awaits them is a violent, malicious, maddeningly funny take on a tired genre that’s been around since the dawn of cinema. Keitel delivers an unrecognizable performance as a moral man of faith mustering what he can to protect his family. Great round out casting includes legendary FX man Tom Savini as Sex Machine (shooting bullets from his crotch, nice ay ladies!) Fred Williamson (Black Caesar himself) as a tough talking bar biker, and Cheech Marin playing tri-roles. We can’t forget Juliette Lewis, or the smoke work of Salma Hayek as the exotic dancing vamp Satanico Pandemonium. Heat!

#15: Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Year: 1988
If this isn’t a cult movie, I don’t what is! While not particularly violent, Killer Klowns plays to that universal fear that haunt many across the globe, clowns. An unabashed B-movie with a paltry 2 million dollar budget mostly allocated to production costs, the directing Chiodo Brother’s constructed many of the evil clowns themselves. The film follows an alien mother ship landing on Earth, where a gaggle of clown looking extra terrestrials capture and contain as many human beings as possible. They store the humans in giant cotton candy pods, sucking fresh blood fuel from their bodies. Oh, and they reproduce by shooting pop corn guns, where kernels propagate into new aliens. This flick is really something odd, way beyond camp humor and the typical bloody fare that comprises the better part of this list. And the Dickies theme song fuc*ing rules!

#14: The Frighteners
Year: 1996
Before Peter Jackson was making three hour epics about little furry hill dwellers; he was sharply cutting his teeth in the horror genre. The Frighteners, starring one Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) as a con man claiming he can see and capture ghosts, might have gone unnoticed upon initial release. When Fox’s ruse backfires, strange supernatural dealings offer a little more than he bargained for (clients pay him to exorcise the ghosts he himself is in cahoots with). The flick is reminiscent of a live action cartoon chalked full of high energy and Fox’s slap stick comic timing. With a nifty score by gothic impresario Danny Elfman and superb visual effects, it’s pretty evident why Jackson’s subsequently become an A-list Hollywood director. Co-starring John Astin, Jefferey Combs, Dee Wallace and R. Lee Ermey, The Frighteners is a must see!

#13: From Beyond
Year: 1986
Stuart Gordon goes back to horror/sci-fi writer H.P. Lovecraft for inspiration in his follow up to Re-Animator, a film called From Beyond. Akin to a hellish acid trip, Jeffrey Combs returns to the role of a scientist (this time, Dr. Tillinghast) set to stimulate the brain’s pineal gland (the sixth sense). Foul ups ensue, and soon a dark otherworldly dimension is opened up, unleashing slimy little ghouls and an unmatched weirdness that stays with you long after its conclusion. The pace of the film races, never leaving you mired in dull moments; the splatter gore matched step for step by corny gross out humor that offers a funny look into the repressed desires of the characters. With Barbra Crampton back (Re-Animator), decked in some S&M leather, and first time Gordon collaborators Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, as well as the director’s wife Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, From Beyond exemplifies the best of warped comic horror madness.

#12: Cemetery Man
Year: 1994
Sadly, this is our only true European effort on the list, but Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) is kick ass flick no less impressive than American counterparts. In fact, it’s cruel to think to say that American film companies would only fund and distribute this film if Matt Dillon were to play the lead role. He didn’t, Rupert Everett did, and thus the film remained for the most part Italian. It’s no coincidence then that it’s the closest thing resembling an art house film on our list. Cemetery Man is about a man named Francesco Dellamorte (the latter meaning love), who guards a grave yard in a town called Buffalora, where for no apparent reason, droves of undead beings rise from their tombs and threaten the living. Untamed and out of control, the film is pure comedy at its bloodiest. Italian splatter film actor Michele Soavi takes a turn on the other side of the camera, creating a beautiful color pallet and a moody atmosphere that shoots the film atop the all time zombie exports.

#11: Beetle Juice
Year: 1988
Tim Burton’s highly original, offbeat gothic exorcist Betelgeuse (Michael keaton) is not only one of the funniest we’ve seen before, but one of the most enduring. Out of a 92 minute running time, Betelgeuse only appears on screen for roughly 17 of those, truly making a lasting impression. The movie revolves around a happily married couple living the rustic life, who after dying in a car accident, seek the help of a crude and creepy exorcist to rid the stuck up, nouveau riche family that just moved into their house. Plenty of laughs here, notably the scene where Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbra (Geena Davis) first meet Betelgeuse inside the town model, where the ghostly ghoul tries his best to ingratiate himself to the couple. Keaton’s brilliant here, often citing this as his favorite of his own films. Sands worms, you hate ‘em, I hate ‘em myself!

#10: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Year: 1986
After just a filthily disturbing second effort, director Tobe Hooper made a bold move by taking one of the most storied horror films ever, and putting a humorous spin on it. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is an uproarious satire with a pearl of a performance by Dennis Hopper as a semi-psychotic, weapon wielding mad man out to exact revenge on the cannibalistic family. See, it was his niece and nephew that were butchered to death in the first installment, and now he’s fu*king pissed! With a bloated budget this time around, Hooper adds almost surrealistic scenes with not only comic one liners, but ridiculous action sequences that can’t help but make one laugh. Take the opening bridge/car chase scene, or the climactic chainsaw battle for examples. Classic! Co-starring Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow (in his last film role), Bill Johnson, and horror mainstay Bill Moseley (Rob Zombie films etc.), this is not only a worthy sequel, but truly one of the funniest horror films to grace the big screen.

#9: An American Werewolf in London
Year: 1981
John Landis, a man responsible for some of the funniest comedies ever (Animal House, Blues Brothers, Trading Places), lends his lycanthropic tale to the old country, setting two American tourists smack dab in the middle. Griffin Dunne and David Naughton play the fish out of water foreigners, who after being mauled by a savage werewolf; can’t find any of the town folk to believe them. In fact, they won’t even admit such a beast exists. Good laughs with even better gore, this film ranks right atop the often tepid werewolf subgenre. Legendary make up man Rick Baker was awarded the very first Oscar in the category of make up, as this film forced the Academy to recognize what ground breaking work was being achieved. Even more trivial, every song in the soundtrack has the word “moon” in the title. Check it out!

#8: Shaun of the Dead
Year: 2004
A god damn breath of fresh air! Hilarious British imports Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright pump new life into the over saturated zombie subgenre with the side splitter, Shaun of the Dead. In fact, it inspired the much imitated RomComZom micro-genre, also known as the romantic comedy zombie film. Here, a bumbling ne’er-do-well must bust the hell out of a zombie horde overtaking London. With his overweight idiotic pal Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun (Pegg) does all he can to save his beloved, recent ex-girlfriend from the flesh starved walking corpses. A very well crafted movie, whose humor equals the quality of graphic gore that’s on display throughout. Multiple viewings are encouraged, as many many in jokes and references to horror icons like Romero, Landis, Bruce Campbell, etc. can go unnoticed the first time around. One of the best out there!

#7: Return of the Living Dead
Year: 1985
After an effluvial gas permeates a military canister and dissipates into the air, humans begin transmuting into brain hungry zombies. Far and away my own personal favorite zombie film of all time, it’s a shame writer/director Dan O’Bannon, responsible for inking the scripts to all six Alien pictures, Dead and Buried, and Total Recall, only directed one other movie aside from this one; The Resurrection in 1992. Because Return is a comic horror masterpiece! The reason it’s so funny is it never tries too hard to be so, most of the humor is played straight forward and dead pan. Not only has two of the best onscreen zombies ever (tarman and half a woman), but the flick has endless comic moments, from the nudist punk zombie chick named Trash, to the nasty Jheri curl mullet Miguel Nunez sports, or the half animated zombie dogs, you name it. Deliciously paced, and with over twenty years under it’s belt, the film holds up extremely well. Brains, brains, more braaaaains! Damn I love this picture.

#6: Young Frankenstein
Year: 1974
How can we conduct a comedy list with out throwing a tip of the cap to arguably the greatest living comedic mind around, Mel Brooks? We can’t, nor would we dream of it. Ingenious, irreverent, always re-inventive, Mel Brooks’ send up to one of the earliest cases of cinematic reanimation is no less a masterwork than any of his celebrated others. Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) inherits his grandfather’s castle and decides to retry the medical procedure of reviving of a laid out corpse. The process goes awry, and comedic hijinks ensue in one of the best spoof films of all time. Aside from Wilder, excellent turns by Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Terri Garr and a stolen scene by Gene Hackman make this one of the all time great horror comedies. We’ll never hear “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in the same way ever again!

#5: Army of Darkness
Year: 1992
Alright, depending on one’s own taste, it’s quite a toss up for superiority between Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Continuing Ash’s story arc, Army catapults its hero into 1300 A.D. where in an attempt to seize the Necronomicon “Book of the Dead,” must kick medieval “deadite” zombie ass. If you thought Evil Dead II was over the top, Army flares up the zany almost cartoon like humor, especially when Ash is pitted against his own evil mirror image. Co-written by Raimi’s brother Ivan with a cameo by other brother Ted, the film is clearly one long fun in joke where everyone involved seems to be having the time of their lives, or deaths as it may appear. With appearances by Embeth Davidtz, Bridgette Fonda, Marcus Gilbert and Richard Grove, Army of Darkness is a sublime amalgam of blood, carnage and gut wrenching laughter that will keep crowds entertained for many a moon.

#4: Re-Animator
Year: 1985
Now we’re really getting somewhere, huh?!? Director Stuart Gordon’s loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s wicked tale, originally slated to be a simple Frankenstein parody, is indeed among the most uniquely original horror comedies in that it would set the template for decades to come. Jeffery Combs’ iconic role as nerdy Swiss physicist Herbert West, a man dedicated to the experimentation of bringing the dead back to life, is as funny a character as he is memorable. Re-Animator was unrated upon initial release, offering an ultra gory low brow sense of humor that would shock audiences beyond belief. I mean, when you see a severed head attempting to go down on a living female, your first inclination might be to check your water supply for some kind of hallucinogenic. Don’t bother! That and an ass load of other crazy, eye bugging scenes make this flick virtually untouchable.

#3: Dead Alive (AKA Brain Dead)
Year: 1992
Peter Jackson’s horror masterpiece is one of the most energetic, exorbitant, silly pieces of graphic gore ever committed to celluloid. In short, it’s BAD ASS! The film is about a man named Lionel who, after his mom dies, seeks the aide of his girlfriend Paquita to end a gruesome zombie takeover. With over 300 liters of fake blood for the final scene alone, it’s no wonder why vomit bags were passed out with every Swedish rental of the film (additional countries as well, no doubt). Arguably the bloodiest flick ever, any hardcore genre enthusiast would be remiss if they didn’t at least watch this film once, even if 6 showers are required after word. Seriously, there’s a lawnmower scene that spewed 500 gallons of fake blood per minute. Fu*kin’ gnarled! You mix that with a charming sense of absurdist slap stick, the result is a deserved top spot on our much revered compilation.

#2: Evil Dead II
Year: 1987
Sam Raimi’s follow up to his ground breaking first feature, Evil Dead II raises the comic bar up several notches. Bruce Campbell’s deified cult hero Ash has become an overwhelming favorite among horror fans across many generations. In this story, Ash continues to fight off flesh eating demons in the oddly mysterious and malevolent cabin in some of the most relentless, hyper kinetic action scenes ever witnessed in a horror film. With humor a first priority, Evil Dead II is a hilarious, high intensity blood bath that can be watched over and over again. Shot almost entirely in a junior high school gymnasium doubling for a forest, many cuts were necessary to ensure an R-rating, which explains the lot of black and green blood in certain scenes. Widely considered a remake of The Evil Dead, the opening scenes are mere re-creations of footage that could not be licensed as recapitulation of the first film. So no, it’s not a remake but instead one of the most ingenious horror sequels we’ve seen.

#1: Ghostbusters
Year: 1984
Ivan Rietman’s classic comic romp through the paranormal, Ghostbusters is easily one of the greater landmark films of this ilk. While tipping heavier on the side of comedy, there are certainly enough suspenseful scare tactics to keep the heart pumping. The opening apparition scene with librarian; or the refrigerator scenes with Zuul and Dana Barret come to immediate mind. With comic icons such as Billy Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis at the helm, this film is one of the few on our list that also garnered box office success, becoming one of the highest grossing films of 1984. Note that original roles were written for John Belushi (as Venkman), Eddie Murphy (as Winston) and John Candy (as Luis Tully). While it would’ve been interesting to see how those actors would have faired, this no doubt remains atop the heavyweight class of horror comedies. Shoot, I ain’t fraid a no ghosts!

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