Ranking Rick and Morty Horror Episodes
8 Rick and Morty episodes that fall under the horror genre
Hi friends!
You already know I’m obsessed with horror, but today I thought I would cross that over with another one of my obsessions: Rick and Morty. I think the creators of the show are horror fans as well because, as we’ll explore below, they sneak a lot of horror references in there. And some of the best episodes of all time fall into this category.
All Rick and Morty episodes qualify as “high concept sci-fi rigamarole,” to quote Jerry from the pilot. But these 8 episodes fall into the horror camp as well. Here, I discuss why I think that is and rank them because why not? I love a ranking. Starting with what may be the most heartbreaking (and my favorite) episode of all time:
The Vat of Acid Episode, Season 4, Episode 8
Morty asks Rick to make him a go-back device, which is a very sci-fi/video game-inspired concept. But what Rick puts Morty through in this episode is nothing short of horrific.
With this device, Morty can save any moment in time and, with a click of a button, go back to that moment with no consequences (or so he thinks). Things get sick and twisted when Morty meets someone, falls in love, and in the course of a relationship montage, endures a plane crash into the snowy mountains with them, a la Alive. The two narrowly escape death before Morty bravely rescues them, pressing the buttons for 911 with frost-rotted fingers. I don’t want to fully spoil what happens next with the go-back device, but it’s devastating. (Maybe you can guess.)
We know Rick wanted to punish Morty for making fun of his vat of acid idea at the beginning of the episode, but could he have really known the trauma he would cause? I’m worried the answer is yes because Rick was suspiciously absent from every scene involving Morty’s love-filled montage.
Not to mention, the vat of acid in and of itself references a horror movie from the late 50s, House on Haunted Hill, which featured a hilariously green, bubbling vat of acid, which you know works because you see the bones float up!
Night Family, Season 6, Episode 4
Rick obtains a device that allows him to program his unconscious body, Night Rick, to get things done for him while Day Rick sleeps. The rest of the family wants in, and suddenly, there’s a whole Night Family doing dishes, working out, and learning new skills — all while the Day Family sleeps. But eventually the Night Family, with their creepy whispery voices, starts to resist.
This might be the most obviously horror-influenced on the list, with the eerie music and dark theme, full of shadows and creaks in the night. When they wake up to find the house in disarray from the Night Family’s protest, Jerry shudders and says he has the “hoo ha’s,” referencing this creepy quote from T.S. Eliot that plays at the beginning of the episode:
“You've had a cream of a nightmare dream and you've got the hoo-ha's coming to you. And you wait for a knock and the turning of a lock for you know the hangman's waiting for you.
Fear No Mort, Season 7, Episode 10
This was by far the best episode from season 7. It’s definitely horror-adjacent, with the topic of fear being intrinsic to the episode.
When Rick and Morty are unimpressed at a fear carnival in space, a strange suited man approaches them to offer them a real scare: the Fear Hole.
Located in the men’s bathroom of a regular-seeming Denny’s, the Fear Hole promises a truly terrifying experience, one they can’t escape until they’ve faced and conquered their greatest fear.
Morty’s realization at the end, which is too good to spoil, is such a satisfying payoff. Speaking of satisfying, the way the new voice actor for Morty shouts “DEARRRR GODDD” at the end is just too good. Poor Morty.
Rick Potion #9, Season 1, Episode 6
When Morty asks Rick to make him a love potion, the results turn disastrous as the potion malfunctions, turning everyone on Earth, besides the Smith family, into “Cronenberg” monsters (a reference to the great filmmaker David Cronenberg, best known for the "body horror" genre).
That’s a horror plot and reference all on its own. But this episode is also special because this is the first time Rick and Morty permanently swapped dimensions, letting the viewer in on just how Rick can be so callous. When you can literally destroy the planet, then hop into another dimension and continue life as though it never happened, you’re going to become a bit indifferent to facing consequences. Meanwhile, Morty is justifiably traumatized. The way they left Summer, Beth, and Jerry to suffer and die in Cronenberg world was nothing short of stone-cold.
Rest and Ricklaxation, Season 3, Episode 6
Rick and Morty get their “toxins” removed at an alien spa and come out as the “healthy” versions of themselves. All is going great until they learn that the removed toxins are sentient versions of themselves, trapped in the machine.
I think having an evil (in this case, toxic) doppelgänger after you qualifies as a horror plot. It is very Us, after all.
But, I don’t know what’s scarier, fighting your toxic version or waking up as the toxic version: You come to as all the bad traits of yourself after an explosion sends you into a toxic wasteland, and you have to try to fight your way back to life.
Also, I just have to mention I love healthy Morty. His hilarious pick-up speech to Stacy at the bar is one of my favorite scenes.
Lawnmower Dog, Season 1
Rick and Morty try to “incept” Morty’s teacher into giving him good grades in math. But when Mr. Goldenfold proves to be an active dreamer, the two must continue incepting people, going into dreams within dreams, which eventually leads them to a knockoff of Freddy Kreuger: Scary Terry. Meanwhile, Jerry asks Rick to make the family dog smarter, which goes disastrously.
I can’t believe this is the second episode ever of the series because it’s so ambitious with its intense A and B plots. Plot A is an Inception parody that turns into a Nightmare on Elm Street parody (hence the mention in this list). Parody within a parody, is it a paraception??
Then plot B is about intelligent dogs taking over the world and turning humans into their subservient pets.
It’s a lot going on and they do it so well.
Amortycan Grickfitti, Season 5, Episode 5
Rick’s made a deal with Hell Demons to allow them to feed off of Jerry’s cringey energy. The Hell Demons reference the iconic Clive Barker Hellraiser series in which Hell is ruled by a bunch of freaks that love pain and have all these body modifications so that they’re always feeling it. The episode satires this, poking a huge hole in the logic (or piercing it painfully, I should say). Rick is able to exploit their paradoxical nature (you hate this, which means you love it, right?) to help them escape.
I also love their commentary on cringe and how it cannot exist in a vacuum. Someone must be there to witness it. As a fan of cringe-comedy, like the work of Nathan Fielder, I approve of this message.
8. Look Who’s Purging Now, Season 2, Episode 9
Rick and Morty stumble upon a Purge planet, a planet that celebrates an annual purge, in which all crime is legal for 24 hours, and they go crazy on each other to get their aggression out. Pretty straightforward horror reference!
One thing I love about this one, too, is that it has a theme surrounding the craft of writing. Rick and Morty take shelter with a non-purging person on the planet. In exchange, Morty only needs to listen to his (terrible) screenplay.
When pushed to give feedback, Morty lightly critiques it and all goes off the rails. This joke felt like something personal the writers slipped in. Rick and Morty creators like Dan Harmon clearly have such a love for the craft of writing, and that’s what I love most about the show.