A Cult Horror Comedy With A 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Streaming For Free

This type of horror-comedy can be very challenging. Lean too little one way or the other, and the film ends up losing either the horror factor or the funny factor, coming across as either too serious or not serious enough. However, the best horror comedies manage to achieve the perfect blend of excitement and laughter, eliciting a visceral reaction in viewers.

Some of the best examples of this include “An American Werewolf in London,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and “Housebound,” a popular film that received a 95% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and which /Film ranked among the 20 best horror comedies of all time. Released in 2014, “Housebound” is a movie in the vein of “Cabin in the Woods” or “Tucker and Dave vs Evil,” combining truly scary moments with plenty of humor. In fact, it’s the rare horror comedy that truly appreciates scaring its audience, even if it’s just with a funny punchline. Fortunately, it’s currently streaming for free on Plex, Pluto, and Tubi, just in time for Halloween.

In Housebound, Morgana O’Reilly plays Kylie Bucknell, a troublemaker whose recent run-in has left her under house arrest. If that’s not enough, she’s also forced to live with her talkative mother Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) in a place that may be haunted by a less friendly entity. “Housebound” itself was Gerard Johnston’s first feature film, and a confident one at that. Rather than a complete parody that uses horror tropes and techniques to mock the genre, the film is dark and action-packed when it wants to be, walking a tightrope between humor and horror that never overwhelms either. Plus, she has a big heart and a very relatable hero.

‘Housebound’, like ‘What We Do In The Shadows’, has a very unique New Zealand heart and humor which sets the film apart from other horror comedies. Johnston infuses the screenplay with Kiwi humour, but he also makes sure the audience feels for his characters outside of the genre dub. This is, after all, a film about a mother and daughter, and it manages to tug at the heartstrings.

It’s no surprise, then, that James Wan saw something special in Gerard Johnston, enough to let him direct the action comedy “M3GAN.” As Wan once pointed out, it’s the way Johnston straddles the line between creepy and ridiculous that made him the perfect choice to turn M3GAN into a global pop icon. It clearly worked, as “M3GAN” was a big enough hit to get a sequel, with Johnston and writer Akeelah Cooper delivering a thrilling take on our concerns about artificial intelligence. It’s also a ridiculously fun movie about a killer doll and a singer, as well as a sweet story about a woman trying to connect with the child she’s suddenly tasked with taking care of.

In fact, you can see the through line that connects “Housebound” and its take on character and heart at the center of “M3GAN” and its sequel. Johnston excels at mixing genres and tones (see also: How ‘M3GAN 2.0’ dramatically changes tone and genres throughout its run), keeping audiences on their toes and challenging genre expectations — whether by exploring the truth behind the house haunting in “Housebound” or the morality of M3GAN in the “M3GAN” films.

Even more than a decade after its release, “Housebound” remains a true gem of a horror comedy. And the fact that it’s completely free to stream makes it a must-watch this Halloween in 2025.