10 Times Robot Chicken Brilliantly Spoofed Your Favorite Horror Films

Robot Chicken, known for its irreverent humor and clever parodies, has left no stone unturned when it comes to spoofing some of the most iconic horror films in cinematic history.

The Shining

In Robot Chicken season 11 episode 7, there's an amusing segment subtitled The Shining Life of Zack and Cody which humorously intertwines characters from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody with elements from Stanley Kubrick’s iconic horror film The Shining.

In the segment we meet the Grady Twins, well known from the original movie. Zack and Cody are cruising around on tricycles, just like Danny did in The Shining, and there are nods to some famous scenes, like a room getting filled with blood.

Nightmare on Elm Street

In the segment It's the Gifts That I Hate of season 4, a humorous spin is put on the horror classic Nightmare on Elm Street. The episode brings Freddy Krueger, the iconic villain, into a comedic light. Freddy is seen with his wife Loretta, discussing a sweater he received as a gift from his daughter.

This scenario plays around with the idea of Freddy being in a casual, domestic setting, which is a stark contrast to his terrifying persona in Nightmare on Elm Street.

There's also a cool piece of trivia: Breckin Meyer, who acted in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), plays a Dream Demon in this episode, which adds a bit of meta-humor to the whole thing.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist is an old-school horror flick from '73. It's about a poor girl getting possessed by an evil spirit, and her mom pulling out all the stops to rescue her with the help of two Catholic priests performing an exorcism.

The fragment titled Hell Sucks (S10, E12) pokes fun at popular culture elements using action figures and stop-motion animation. The demon trolls the priest by saying things about his mother. Isn’t that what we love Robot Chicken for?

Psycho

In its spoof of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Robot Chicken presents a skit where a character named B*tch Pudding checks into the Bates Motel, encountering the infamous Norman Bates, much to his dismay. The spoof is titled B*tch Pudding In Psycho.

They also parodied Psycho in an episode called Who's Killing the Muppets? where it featured allusions to Hitchcock's Psycho among other references

Hellraiser

In Robot Chicken, there are few humorous takes on Hellraiser, which is a well-known horror film from the 80s directed by Clive Barker. In one of the sketches, a barber gives Pinhead a haircut by hammering his pins. In another segment, Pinhead’s mom takes a few pins from his head to use for sewing.

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is a huge and iconic horror franchise. There are too many episodes that feature Jason Voorhees to mention them all, but the most standout sketch is probably the fragment Thursday the 12th from season 4.

In the episode, we glimpse into the supposedly dull life of Jason Voorhees on the day before the feared Friday the 13th. It's a humorous dig showing that even horror icons have their off days.

The segment illustrates a whimsical Jason, who instead of instilling dread, is seen trying on different outfits and getting his acts together for the "big day" ahead.

In a similar vein, Robot Chicken also has another fragment called Scooby Friday that blends the eerie Friday the 13th with the goofy charm of Scooby-Doo.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Robot Chicken has a segment titled Big Horror Movie Brother, featuring iconic characters from various horror movies including Leatherface. The episode jokes on why it’s hard for Leatherface, Jason, and Michael Myers to play charades, — they are mute in their movies.

Leatherface also makes a cameo in the 17th episode of season 6, and shines in the American Pickers Texas segment, a parody of the American Pickers reality show.

Child's Play

In the fourth episode of season 1, Chucky, the notorious doll from Child's Play, finds himself lost in the woods, humorously confused about his complex origin story. As he navigates through, he bumps into a gang of sinister Cabbage Patch dolls, who turn out to be more powerful and menacing than him.

Adding a cherry on top, Mark Hamill lent his voice for Chucky in this sketch. What’s even more surprising is that he reprised later in the 2019 remake of Child’s Play.

Halloween

In the 15th episode of season 10, there is a mashup sketch of totally different movies: Home Alone and Halloween. So, Michael Myers ends up in Kevin McCallister's house by accident.

Kevin's clever traps, which were meant for the Wet Bandits, totally backfire when used against Michael, who's basically invincible. It's pretty funny watching Macaulay Culkin's character freak out as all his tricks fail miserably.

Saw

In the irreverent comedic style of Robot Chicken, a fragment titled Sawed by the Bell mashes up the horror movie Saw with the '90s sitcom Saved by the Bell.

In this quirky crossover, they bring the familiar characters of Saved by the Bell into the gruesome, trap-laden world of Saw. Interestingly, most of the original actors from the sitcom reprised their roles for this parody