Scary movies to make you laugh:

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Tremors (1990) PG-13, 96min

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Summary: Two country handymen and a seismology student discover a desolate town infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live underground. Dune (1984) came out first, so forgive the similarities you might spot between giant tunneling worm-monsters.

Recommendation: The monsters in this work should be terrifying, but the arguments between the human characters are too much fun; I’m constantly laughing. When invited (in 1990) to see this at the big theater, I thought it was going to be a throwaway movie, a waste of time. Once I started laughing (and cringing), I fell in love with Michael Gross’ and Reba’s characters and that was it for me – I had some of the best guffawing I’ve ever enjoyed in a theater. Sure it’s got scary parts but that’s just the genre.

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Little Shop of Horrors (1986) PG-13, 94min

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Summary: A comedy, a love story and a cult classic starring a giant singing plant from outer space – what else could it be but Little Shop of Horrors? The 1986 film has a surprisingly complex history; it began as a short story, then became a low-budget film, before turning into an Off-Broadway play, when finally Frank Oz and his team created this quirky, dark screen version.

Recommendation: The doo-wop of it all! The music is so fun, you’ll find yourself humming along even when you don’t know the lyrics yet. Who’s more outrageous – Steve Martin as the dentist or that voice of Levi Stubbs’ coming out of a fictional plant? So many incredible names came together to make this version work. Candy, Belushi, Murray, Guest – add those to Moranis and Martin, you’ve got a full Sunday dinner of laughter.

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Night of the Comet (1984) PG-13, 95min

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Summary: It’s the first comet to buzz the planet in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating. Everyone, that is, except Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart) and her cheerleader sister (Kelli Maroney), two Valley Girls who couldn’t care less. But when the ladies discover they’re the only people who the comet hasn’t vaporized or turned into a zombie, they do what all good Valley Girls do, they go shopping…for a couple of machine guns! Never underestimate two girls from the valley!

Recommendation: Oh, the eighties! The clothes, the shoes, the hairstyles, those shoulder pads! Everything, both bad and good, about the 80’s is here, including the local mall. Forgive a little gum snapping, she’s stressed at the moment. Learn good safety habits with the last cool girls on Earth – with a little help from a way-pre-Trek Robert Beltran. The action is not that impressive, but the laughs are more dialog-related anyway.