It’s safe to say Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s original Scream ruined me for traditional horror movies forever. The 1996 flick spoiled viewers with a mix of laughs and bone-chilling scares that has been darn-near-impossible for filmmakers to replicate since, but here are some recent movies that I think come close.
1 Happy Death Day (2017) It’s Groundhog Day but a slasher movie set on a college campus, need I say more? Not only is the ticking clock of this movie exceptionally effective, but Jessica Rothe and Israel Broussard have very watchable chemistry together.
2 Ready Or Not (2019) Samara Weaving plays a bride with a troubled past who thinks she’s marrying into the big family of her dreams. The catch? If her new in-laws get their way, she won’t live past her wedding night. Set in an old-money, opulent American estate, this flick is an amazing example of single-location filmmaking.
3 Scream (2022) This re-invigoration of the Scream franchise stars Jenna Ortega (who I’ll gladly watch in anything), and I was impressed by the fast pace, consistent scares, and the way the film kept me on the edge of my seat while never taking itself too seriously. This tonal balancing act is crazy-hard, so I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say I think this flick (also known as Scream 6) does a riveting job of carrying the torch Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson lit decades ago.
4 Freaky (2020) From Christopher Landon, who also directed Happy Death Day, this body-swap movie stars Vince Vaughn and is just plain fun. I remember it being a beacon of joy for me in the midst of Covid, and I’m interested to re-watch it this spooky season to see if its blend of scares and laughs still holds up.
5 Get Out (2017) Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was surrounded by so much awards buzz that I feel like we kinda forgot to celebrate what an amazing feat of horror-comedy it is. The film is hard to describe without spoilers, but it’s essentially the classic film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner but a horror movie. Not only does Peele’s social commentary yield laughs galore, but it is intensely suspenseful and the film’s first jump-scare is one of my favorites of all time.
6 Drop (2025) This is technically more of a straight-up suspense-thriller, but I’m including it here because I found myself laughing consistently throughout. Meghann Fahy’s performance has a lot to do with this–she plays a single mom dipping her toe into dating for the first time in years, and I dare you not to be on the edge of your seat both screaming at her and laughing with her as she tries to outsmart an anonymous phone stalker while on a claustrophobic dinner date from hell. (It should be noted that this is yet another Christopher Landon movie–what can I say? I’m a fan.)
ICYMI, here are some other Halloween movie recommendations from years gone by: family-friendly Halloween movies, my fave scary movies & TV of all time, and scary movies revisited. Do you have any fave horror-comedies I missed here?
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