Mike Myers’ horror-comedy The Pentaverate recently debuted on Netflix and has gained mixed reviews. Even the lowest shows can find favor with fans though, and some may still find favor in the tale of a journalist going undercover to discover just who is running the world.
However, The Pentaverate is not the only show that mixes the screams of terror with tears of laughter. In fact, there are quite a few other great horror-comedies that fans of The Pentaverate may enjoy just as much.
5 Truth Seekers
If Mike Myers isn’t to one’s taste, then maybe Simon Pegg and Nick Frost will be. The Shaun of the Dead stars spiced up the internet with their series about ghost hunters. Frost plays Gus Roberts, a broadband installer who moonlights as a paranormal investigator. Work starts to meet play when Gus and his new work partner, Elton John (not that one), come across spooks, kooks, and cosplayers while on the clock.
It even got fair reviews, offering more of the kind of humor Pegg and Frost brought to their ‘Three Cornettos’ trilogy, which is made up of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End. The show only lasted for one eight-episode season before being canceled in 2021. As unfortunate as that is, the whole show can be seen on Amazon Prime. Perhaps with enough favor and a bit of luck, the series could enjoy the same kind of cult recognition the duo’s breakout series Spaced received back in the day.
4 The League of Gentlemen
The bizarre tales of the creepy goings-on in the fictional village of Royston Vasey went on for three series across three years. It featured sketches that would chill spines as well as induce laughs. Like Edward & Tubbs, the local shopkeepers who have grim intentions for anyone who isn’t “local.” There's also Hilary Bris, the local butcher whose produce might consist of people who dared to ask what’s inside his sausages.
The show became such a success in its native UK that it culminated in a movie, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, where the show’s characters must convince its writers to keep the show going to save Royston Vasey from being destroyed. The movie might be harder to find outside the UK, but the series can be seen on Amazon Prime. One of its writers, Mark Gatiss, went on to helm the BBC Sherlock series. While two other writers, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, made the similarly dark and funny Inside Number 9.
3 Santa Clarita Diet
For something a little more Stateside, Netflix has another creepy comedy in Santa Clarita Diet. Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore play their parts as Joel and Sheila Hammond: a husband and wife real estate team. All seems to be going well until Sheila starts acting impulsively, throwing up extensively, and losing her pulse.
Yep, Sheila’s turning into a zombie. To keep both her and their marriage alive, Joel must adjust to her new behavior, and keep feeding her flesh. Except dead meat and barbecue aren’t going to cut it. It must be fresh and recently killed. The show ran for three seasons right up to 2019, which is a good run. That’s longer than many other Netflix originals.
2 What We Do in the Shadows
Based on the 2014 movie of the same name, What We Do in the Shadows is about four roommates living in Staten Island, New York, and how they handle modern life. Except they’re all vampires. Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja are the traditional blood-sucking types, while Colin feeds on energy by irritating his prey through sheer boredom. Nandor also has a familiar, Guillermo, who wishes to become a vampire too someday despite his tendency to kill them by accident.
All three seasons can be found on Hulu Plus, with a fourth one due on 12th July 2022. With that in mind, it’s a good time to get caught up with the show before creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi serve up their fourth helping. Weirdly, the movie is only available on Amazon Prime and Kanopy. To see the whole Shadows package in one place, viewers would have to get on Shudder in the UK.
1 Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
This deliberately corny show about doctors facing off against supernatural phenomena within Darkplace Hospital is perhaps the most obvious suggestion. The show is part hospital horror-comedy, part retrospective of the hospital horror-comedy by the cast members, including the titular horror author Marenghi himself. Not only is it a top show, but it also launched the careers of Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry, leading to their other work like The I.T Crowd and Toast of London.
Darkplace became a cult classic within the UK after its original Channel 4 run in 2004. Then it reached North America via the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) in 2006. Nowadays, it’s better known for its Adult Swim run the following year in 2007. The DVD is worth hunting down as it contains extras that are delivered in character, like episode commentaries and a making-of documentary. For those just after the show alone, it can be found on Amazon Prime and Britbox in all its insane glory.