20 Absolutely Absurd Horror Movies You Might Not Have Seen

This brand of outlandish scare fare must be seen to be believed...

If you've been utterly possessed by the new Starz horror-comedy series Shining Vale, you probably realize that it can be refreshing when horror doesn't take itself too seriously.

Epic Records / Sony

However, there's a fine line between clever comedy and absolute ridiculousness, though there is plenty of fun to be mined from campier horror offerings. With that in mind, I've assembled 20 of the most absurd genre gems in horror history that are absolutely worth seeking out.

1. Night of the Lepus (1972)

MGM / APL Archive / Courtesy Alamy

Psycho star Janet Leigh takes on mutated killer bunnies in this old-school horror film that’s renowned for being way more silly than scary.

2. Blood Diner (1987)

Lightning Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Two demented brothers set out to resurrect an ancient goddess through a “blood buffet” made out of customers at their popular restaurant in this wild ‘80s horror comedy.

3. I, Frankenstein (2014)

Hopscotch Features / Lakeshore Entertainment / Collection Christophel / Courtesy Alamy

The makers of the Underworld franchise struck gold with their battles between werewolves and vampires, but believe it or not, lightning didn’t strike twice for this Aaron Eckhart-starring horror-action hybrid about the war between Frankenstein’s monsters and gargoyles.

4. The Greasy Strangler (2016)

FilmRise / Courtesy Everett Collection

In this avant garde horror comedy, a socially maladjusted man is locked in a struggle for the woman of his dreams with his abrasive and peculiar father, who is responsible for a series of bizarre killings as his grease-covered alter ego.

5. Body Parts (1991)

Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

In this fun but ultimately outrageous horror movie, a criminal psychologist loses his arm in a grisly car accident and learns his newly acquired limb previously belonged to a serial killer…and he may be coming to collect!

6. Slugs (1988)

Dister Films via Giphy

A rural town is besieged by killer slugs with their local health inspector as their sole savior in this oddball adaptation of Shaun Hutson’s horror novel.

7. Verotika (2019)

Cleopatra Entertainment via YouTube

Written, composed, and directed by Glenn Danzig based on the comic books by, you guessed it, Glenn Danzig, this hypersexual, so-bad-it’s-good horror anthology has been touted by some to be the next midnight movie in the vein of Troll 2 and The Room.

8. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

Vestron Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

The desert town of Purgatory, which is entirely populated by vampires, descends into turmoil when their artificial blood factory breaks down in this horror-comedy cult classic.

9. The Tripper (2006)

Coquette Productions / Moviestore Collection Ltd / Courtesy Alamy

In this exceptionally goofy slasher picture from the mind of David Arquette, a group of young hippies is targeted by a killer impersonating former President Ronald Reagan at a Woodstock-esque music festival.

10. Nothing but Trouble (1991)

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

A star-studded cast featuring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, and Dan Aykroyd (who also wrote and directed it) should be commended for their commitment to Nothing but Trouble, which has been cited to be among the most absurdly gross and tonally strange horror pictures ever produced.

11. Black Sheep (2006)

Weinstein Company / Courtesy Everett Collection

Flesh-eating sheep are on the attack in this horror comedy from New Zealand, which just so happens to innately understand the power of punctuating every bloody kill with the loud sound of bleating.

12. The Mangler (1995)

New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

While names like Tobe Hooper, Stephen King, and Robert Englund have a hardcore horror pedigree, the proceedings are decidedly over the top and bonkers in this fright film about a murderous industrial washer machine.

13. Santa's Slay (2005)

Media 8 Entertainment via Giphy

Bill Goldberg racks up a body count as long as his WCW undefeated streak in this horror comedy about a bloodthirsty Santa Claus who reigns terror upon Hell Township in Canada.

14. Bad Milo! (2013)

Magnet Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

In this frightful farce starring comedy favorites Ken Marino and Gillian Jacobs, a stressed-out man discovers his intestinal polyp has developed into a monster that escapes through his butthole and kills those seemingly responsible for his unsatisfying life.

15. The Manitou (1978)

Melvin Simon Productions / A7A Collection / Photo 12 / Courtesy Alamy

A woman gives birth to a malevolent shaman through a bulge in the back of her neck, and that’s only a fraction of the weird and wild turns that The Manitou has in store for its viewers.

16. Rubber (2010)

Realitism Films / Moviestore Collection Ltd. / Alamy

French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux popularized his brand of surreal storytelling through this acclaimed meta-horror film about a sentient tire stalking a woman down a desert road.

17. Snakes on a Plane (2006)

New Line Cinema / Allstar Picture Library Ltd. / Courtesy Alamy

It’s all laid bare in the title for this campy creature feature led by a foul-mouthed Samuel L. Jackson, who must foil a (literally) cold-blooded assassination attempt on a federal witness 10,000 feet in the air.

18. Deadly Friend (1986)

Warner Brothers / Courtesy Everett Collection

Wes Craven’s original tempered vision for this sci-fi horror film about a teenager who has a robot’s processor implanted in her brain (which also somehow turns her into a literal killing machine) was ultimately bastardized by the studio, who imposed ultraviolent and nonsensical additions that cemented its cult film status.

19. The Fanatic (2019)

Quiver Distribution / Courtesy Everett Collection

John Travolta is absolutely off the rails in this Fred Durst (yes, THAT Fred Durst) directed horror thriller about a neurodivergent sociopath who becomes violently obsessed with his favorite actor, Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa)... And in case you’re wondering, the film does indeed take the opportunity to showcase the music of Limp Bizkit.

20. Father’s Day (2011)

Troma Entertainment via YouTube

A bloody masterpiece from the subversive, hilarious, and provocative filmmaking collective Astron-6, Father’s Day follows a vigilante, a priest, and a prostitute who team up to bring “The Father’s Day Killer,” a serial killer targeting local fathers, to justice.