The Top 50 Greatest Dark Comedies

Of all the old adages we hear and cite constantly for years and years, there is one I completely agree with: Laughter is the best medicine. When I am about to sit through a surgery or procedure where I will be awake, I listen to stand up comedy. When I’m sick and miserable at home, I watch stand up comedy. And sometimes old SNL sketches. And when there are difficult times in life, it’s good—at some point—to laugh.

Yes, you can joke about a sensitive subject “too soon” or at the wrong time, but when the time does come to look at it with some humour, it sure feels good. The following are all designated as “dark comedies” on IMDb; they make jokes and light hearted situations in the midst of death, war, crime, even suicide. And they are, for my money, the top 50 best:

• An American Werewolf in London (1981)

• A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

• 28 Days (2000)

• Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

• Heathers (1989)

• Anora

• A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

• The Running Man (1987)

• Nobody

• Trainspotting (1996)

• Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

• Snatch (2000)

• The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

• In Bruges (2008)

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

• The Deadpool series (2016-2024)

• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

• Poor Things (2023)

• The Great Dictator (1940)

• The Cable Guy (1996)

• Scrooged

• Beetlejuice (1988)

• I, Tonya (2017)

• Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

• The Wolf of Wall Street

• Wild Tales (2014)

• Django Unchained

• The Substance (2024)

• The Death of Stalin (2017)

• The Burbs

• So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

• Team America: World Police (2004)

• O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000)

• Shaun of the Dead (2004)

• Everything Everywhere All At Once

• Parasite (2019)

• Better Off Dead (1985)

• The Truman Show (1998)

• What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

• Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

• Airplane (1980)

• Fight Club

• The Borat series (2006, 2020)

• Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

• Fargo (1996)

• Stand By Me (1986)

• Jojo Rabbit (2019)

• Game Night (2018)

• Inglourious Basterds (2009)

And ones I haven’t seen yet, but hope to:

• World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

• The Producers (1967, 2005)

• Shiva Baby (2020)

• Seven Psychopaths (2012)

• Scream (1996)

• Sideways (2004)

• After Hours (1985)

• The Evil Dead (1981)

• M*A*S*H (1970)

• Burn After Reading (2008)

• Harold and Maude (1971)

• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress:

Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson in

Best Actor: John Cusack as Lane Meyer in

Best Quote: “How do you say rathole in British?” – Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in

There are some pretty big titles that didn’t make the list, but they were ones that I had a hard time thinking of them as dark comedies, like , , and