Horror is a genre that can be many things, and although the legendary films are the ones that cause nightmares, there’s a strong audience for the offbeat and campy entries. Campy isn’t a mark of shame for horror; it’s a term of endearment for anyone who grew up on ’80s slashers where the plot took a backseat to fun escapism for an hour and a half.
It’s exciting to see thought-provoking horror movies like Sinners finding an audience, but as the recent release M3GAN 2.0 proves, there’s room for campy horror movies as well. The following films are some of the best campy horror movies of the last five years, ranked by just how well they balance the silly with the scares.
10
‘It’s a Wonderful Knife’ (2023)
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
Holidays are the perfect time to reconnect with old friends, spend time with family, and stop serial killers in the Frank Capra story on acid, It’s a Wonderful Knife. Winnie (Jane Widdop) manages to kill the psychopath known as The Angel before they can claim more victims, but the act of committing murder haunts her and leaves lasting emotional damage. When her life seems to be falling apart a year later, Winnie is given a chance to see what her town of Angel Falls would have looked like if she had never been born.
…Horror fans can add a new movie to their festive watch list.
It’s a Wonderful Knife takes the well-covered concept of a person seeing their friends and family live in a world where they didn’t exist, and throws a few dead bodies in every few minutes to keep things lively. It’s a slasher packed with holiday spirit, focusing on a Christmas message of thankfulness for loved ones who haven’t been stabbed to death. Add to that a standout creepy performance from Justin Long as the town’s ruthless mayor, and horror fans can add a new movie to their festive watch list.
It’s a Wonderful Knife
- Release Date
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November 10, 2023
- Runtime
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87 Minutes
- Director
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Tyler MacIntyre
- Writers
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Michael Kennedy
9
‘Malignant’ (2021)
Directed by James Wan
In Malignant, Madison (Annabelle Wallis) is a hopeful mother-to-be who experiences head trauma after an attack by her husband. The incident causes Madison to experience a series of visions that align with vicious murders happening around town. Facing suspicion from the police about her involvement, and not trusting her own memories, Madison is forced to find the killer before she can hope to have a peaceful life.
For a large portion of Malignant, the movie operates as a horror with a strong mystery component, searching for the culprit behind the brutal murders. However, once the killer is revealed, the “camp meter” on Malignant explodes, and the movie becomes a wild supernatural rampage of epic proportions. For some, the time it takes for the movie to shake off the overly serious tone to introduce the pulpy horror might be too long, but it’s a hell of an ending for those with a little patience.
8
‘Slay’ (2024)
Directed by Jem Garrard
Four drag queens (Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet, Cara Melle, and Crystal Methyd) take on a slew of vampires in the campy horror flick Slay. After a misunderstanding about their venue sends four drag performers to a rundown dive bar, they perform for the roughneck clientele until vampires arrive to devour everyone inside. With the performers and locals forced to rely on one another, they’ll have to prepare a defense to survive until dawn.
A limited release as a Tubu original has prevented a wider audience from finding the vampire movie, but Slay is the type of campy B movie that has the potential to gain a following in the years to come. Slay uses its low budget to the best of its ability, so as long as there’s a tempered expectation of the visuals, the movie is an enjoyable piece of kitsch horror that is more funny than terrifying.
Slay
- Release Date
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March 22, 2024
- Runtime
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99 minutes
- Director
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Jem Garrard
- Writers
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Jem Garrard
Cast
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Ryan A. Taylor
Robin Banks
-
Heidi N Closet
Mama Sue Flay
7
‘Willy’s Wonderland’ (2021)
Directed by Kevin Lewis
Robotic children’s characters come to life to kill anyone in their path in the horror comedy Willy’s Wonderland. Blown-out tires lead a silent Nicolas Cage to work off his debt by cleaning up a decrepit children’s entertainment restaurant overnight. When the animatronic character comes to life with violent intentions, Cage has no choice but to kill it one by one before finishing his work.
Willy’s Wonderland was released before its clear inspiration, Five Nights at Freddy’s, hit theaters, but amazingly, they don’t have all that much in common. Willy’s Wonderland is a bizarre piece of grindhouse fiction where a completely silent Cage shows that he can give crazed performances without using words, taking breaks between killing possessed robots (that very much look like humans in unlicensed mascot outfits) to do an intense dance while playing pinball. Those looking for a movie light on plot, but heavy on irony should make Willy’s Wonderland the subject of their next watch party.
6
‘Clown in a Cornfield’ (2025)
Directed by Eli Craig
Some titles of movies don’t properly establish the premise of the story, but Clown in a Cornfield doesn’t have that problem. The slasher film follows the arrival of Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) to the economically devastated town of Kettle Springs, where her father has relocated to open a medical practice. Quinn has barely gotten to make friends before they become the victims of the murderous Frendo the Clown, the former mascot of the closed Corn Syrup factory, which the town relied on.
Clown in a Cornfield has its fair share of camp qualities, boasting a killer that somehow evades detection but wears floppy shoes that squeak with every step. However, the most surprising thing about Clown in a Cornfield is that it doesn’t lean as much into the absurdity of the premise as the name or marketing of the film would suggest. Amidst the comedic moments and clown carnage is a story about generational disconnect and the resentment that comes with it.
Clown in a Cornfield
- Release Date
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May 9, 2025
- Runtime
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96 Minutes
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Aaron Abrams
Dr. Glenn Maybrook
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Katie Douglas
Quinn Maybrook
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Carson MacCormac
Cole Hill
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Cassandra Potenza
Janet Murray
5
‘Abigail’ (2024)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
In Abigail, a crew of strangers is hired to kidnap a small girl in hopes of a big ransom, but they fail to find out if their defenseless victim is actually a vampire. When the kidnappers find themselves trapped in their rendezvous spot with a hungry, pint-sized creature of the night, they’ll soon learn their criminal expertise won’t stop them from becoming a midnight snack.
The premise hints at a sillier movie than what it delivered, but Abigail doesn’t take itself too seriously. The movie occasionally attempts to ground the characters, mainly Melissa Barrera‘s antihero Anna, with sympathetic motivations, but the film works best when it’s untrustworthy criminals against a vampiric little girl. Prioritizing fun over scares, Abigail is a haunted hayride of a movie where viewers will see the plot twists coming, but the talented cast makes the most of them.
4
‘Heart Eyes’ (2025)
Directed by Josh Ruben
Sparks fly between Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding), but their meet-cute turns into a nightmare in the slasher/romantic comedy hybrid Heart Eyes. In the film, a killer who targets couples on Valentine’s Day, known as the Heart Eyes Killer, starts the next phase of their rampage in Seattle. The timing couldn’t be worse for Ally, who is in the midst of a personal and professional crisis when the serial killer mistakes Ally’s work meeting for a steamy date.
Heart Eyes is a rare movie that actually tries to blend the “will they or won’t they” of a romantic comedy with the slasher genre that requires frequent bodies slain in the name of entertainment. Motivations for most of what the characters do fall into the category of “because the script said so,” but the campy presentation within the comedy smooths out some of those rough edges. Hardcore horror fans might find Heart Eyes an uninspired watch, but if it were between this and Must Love Dogs, they’d probably pick the slasher.
3
‘Cocaine Bear’ (2023)
Directed by Elizabeth Banks
A large American black bear lives like a kingpin in the ’80s in Cocaine Bear. When a shipment of cocaine is dropped into a national forest, a large bear eats the white gold and becomes an aggressive apex predator. Caught in the eyelines of the cocaine bear are the drug dealers looking for their shipment and a concerned mother looking for her daughter who skipped school.
There are horror movies that explore social issues using frightening symbolism, and then there are movies about bears who like to party and kill people. Cocaine Bear is the second kind of movie. Direct and to the point, Cocaine Bear is a B movie blessed with strong actors like Ray Liotta and Margo Martindale having fun with a silly script and running from a CGI bear. The pacing is a little uneven at times, but not enough to completely pull viewers out entirely.
2
‘M3GAN’ (2022)
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
In M3GAN, a fatal car accident sends Cady (Violet McGraw) to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams), who works as a robotics engineer. Gemma struggles to connect with Cady, but after seeing the grieving child play with one of her robots, the aunt finishes an experimental build of a companion robot named M3GAN. After pairing Cady with M3GAN, the robot becomes overly protective of the girl, violently removing anything she interprets as a threat.
For whatever M3GAN lacks in scares, it makes up for with a strong satirical voice that resonates with audiences. M3GAN introduces some concepts about grief and embracing responsibility that it isn’t that interested in following through on, but when it focuses on the killer doll being creepy, the film hits its mark. There were killer toys before M3GAN, and many more to come after, but her sense of humor, along with those viral dance moves, guarantees she will continue showing up in many movies to come.
1
‘Psycho Goreman’ (2020)
Directed by Steven Kostanski
One of the best examples of recent campy horror is the sci-fi/fantasy/comedy/horror/family movie Psycho Goreman. Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) and Luke (Owen Myre) are siblings killing time playing made-up games when they discover a strange glowing gem that gives them power over a cosmic killing machine they call Psycho Goreman, or PG, for short. PG makes it clear that he wants to bathe in their blood, but they make him a part of their family and use him as a violent toy.
Psycho Goreman hops back and forth between a cheesy family movie released in the ’90s and an R-rated version of Power Rangers, where the monsters are powered by forces from hell. The combination makes for one of the most uniquely satisfying watches, carrying what sounds like a one-joke premise into a feature-length splatter-fest with consistently funny scenes. Viewers who grew up in the era of VHS will especially enjoy the small details of Psycho Goreman, from the practical effects to the rap song that plays over the closing credits.
Psycho Goreman
- Release Date
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September 10, 2020
- Runtime
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95 minutes
- Director
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Steven Kostanski
- Writers
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Steven Kostanski