You could scroll straight to any “romance” movie section and sit through another round of The Notebook or When Harry Met Sally. But if you want some devilish delights mixed in with your declarations of love and make-outs in the rain, why not try a horror romance instead? Here are 10 on streaming services or available to rent to add a little gruesome spice into your Valentine’s Day viewing.
Your Monster (2024)
A struggling actress recovering from cancer endures another blow when her longtime boyfriend—a playwright who’d once seen her as his muse—dumps her while visiting her in the hospital. But this is no ordinary break-up tale; while licking her wounds in her childhood home, she realizes the monster she once believed lived in the closet is somehow real, and becomes a helpful if confusing part of her healing journey. He’s also kinda cute despite looking a lot like the Beast? Melissa Barrera (Scream, Abigail) is a most adorable trainwreck in this film from writer-director Caroline Lindy, now streaming on Max.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
The movie that spawned the TV sensation (hopefully soon to return!) is, yes, about a ditzy cheerleader who learns she’s the “chosen one,” destined to rid the world of vampires. But it’s also got more than a bit of rom-com in its DNA, giving us an odd-couple match-up between Valley Girl Buffy (Kristy Swanson) and burnout Pike (Luke Perry), as well as a wonderful slate of supporting characters played by Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Paul Reubens, Hilary Swank, David Arquette, Stephen Root, and more. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Warm Bodies (2013)
Before he went toe-to-toe with Count Orlok in Nosferatu, or with Count Dracula in Renfield, Nicholas Hoult starred as a zombie whose cold, dead heart is stirred back to life in the post-apocalypse when he falls in love with a human survivor (A Discovery of Witches‘ Teresa Palmer). With a story that riffs on Romeo and Juliet and the novelty factor of a) giving that story a happy ending and b) giving a zombie story a happy ending, as well as c) telling its story from a zombie’s point-of-view, Warm Bodies is a surprisingly sweet treat. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)
While we eagerly await writer-director Eli Craig’s new horror comedy, the evocatively titled Clown in a Cornfield, it’s never a bad time to revisit his feature debut, a slasher parody that asks “what if the scary backwoods rednecks were actually the good guys?” There’s a heaping of bromance between the title characters (Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk), but unexpected romance also sparks between a hillbilly and a college girl (30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden) amid all the misunderstandings and accidental carnage. Streaming on Peacock.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)
The inspiration for this list is new to Shudder and—despite that mouthful of a title—is a surprisingly sweet tale. Two misfits meet cute when he’s trying to decide if he should leap off a building, and she’s trying to gather the nerve to sink her newly sprouted vampire fangs into her first living victim. Romance seems impossible, and there are some towering complications, but this tale from Ariane Louis-Seize offers hope that there really is somebody for everyone, even if one of them happens to be a blood-sucking monster. Streaming on Shudder.
Bride of Chucky (1998)
While these fiends are more often than not trying to rip each other’s throats out, there’s a deep love between them that nothing—not even being transformed into hideous, cackling dolls—can tear asunder. Chucky (Brad Dourif) was always a terrifying guy, but add in Tiffany (played in all her forms by the great Jennifer Tilly) and the chaos is amplified an alarming amount, not to mention the campy comedy. Rent on Amazon Prime Video.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
While a reboot/sequel/franchise revival will soon bring yet another revenge-hungry villain into the I Know What You Did Last Summer universe, the original slasher is worth a nostalgic re-watch. It fits on this list because the main couple, played by ’90s teen dreams Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr., actually survive all the hook-handed mayhem and misguided “wait, are you the killer?” suspicions. The couple that survives a slasher together, stays together… at least until the sequel. Streaming on Netflix.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Jim Jarmusch’s tale of vampire lovers (Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston) digs into an aspect of immortality that few movies ever do—how boring it can be—while also addressing mundane quirks of vampire life, like how one needs to carefully arrange all air travel to avoid any overlap with the sunrise. It’s also stylish as hell and has an aura of cool clinging to every frame—not to mention a wry sense of humor. Rent on Amazon Prime Video.
Attachment (2022)
In this Danish film, former child star Maja (Josephine Park) recovers some much-needed excitement in her life when she forms an instant connection with Leah (Game of Thrones’ Ellie Kendrick). But their rapid-fire romance hits a roadblock when Leah becomes suddenly ill; Maja does her best to help her new love recover, but soon realizes there’s a dark supernatural cause behind all the torment. Streaming on Shudder.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Admit it—you’ve had Francis Ford Coppola’s uber-gothic, decadent interpretation of Bram Stoker’s classic on the brain ever since you watched Nosferatu, or perhaps even since you tried to make heads or tails of his even more decadent recent release, Megalopolis. Equal parts campy, creepy, and swoon-worthy, Bram Stoker’s Dracula reminds us of Gary Oldman’s versatility, Winona Ryder’s pale glamour, and Keanu Reeves’ limited skills with accents, as well as filling the classic roles of Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) and Renfield (Tom Waits) with all-time performances. Rent on Amazon Prime Video.
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