Violence, gore, and thrilling suspense are what most audiences associate with thehorrorgenre, but sometimes, the most unexpected plot lines can be the best. This is the case with the scary movies that tackle romance as well as terror within their narratives, blending the seemingly opposite genres perfectly. It stands to reason that the love stories in horror movies would appeal to viewers, as rooting for the central couple to be together creates an added layer of stakes and tension. However, more often than not,horror movies don’t deliver the happily-ever-after that most romance films do.
While plenty ofromance movies have creepy and disturbing plots, in many horror romances, the love story is the least unsettling part of the narrative. The external scary elements are used as metaphors and allegories for the real-life obstacles that come between the lovers. More often than not,the relationship at the center of horror romances is one of star-crossed loverswho have to overcome insurmountable odds to be together. However, this makes it all the more satisfying when they find a way to make their relationship work.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Cast
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a horror drama film that retells the classic tale of the iconic vampire Count Dracula. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film stars Gary Oldman as the titular character, alongside Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins. The story follows the centuries-old vampire as he moves from Transylvania to England, preying on humans and spreading terror.
The campy and visually astoundingBram Stoker’s Draculais a surreal addition to Francis Ford Coppola’s filmography, but this doesn’t lessen the impact of its romance. Though many of thebest vampire TV showsand movies paint vampires as an irredeemable force of evil,Draculareminds the audiences that the titular villain was once a man, and it was an incredible loss that drove him to his horrific state.Gary Oldman plays Dracula, with Winona Ryder joining him as Mina/Elisabeta, his reincarnated long-lost love.
Though the audience and Mina know that Dracula is dangerous and cruel, they can’t help feeling for him and his plight.
The tragedy of their circumstances and the fact that Dracula was cursed with such a forsaken existence following her death is heartbreaking, as are all the forces that come between them when they find each other again. Though the audience and Mina know that Dracula is dangerous and cruel, they can’t help feeling for him and his plight. When they’re reunited in death, it’s a small mercy for the hundreds of years that Dracula was tormented by his loss.
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Lisa Frankenstein
Lisa Frankenstein is a comedic fantasy-horror film by first-time director Zelda Williams and is a twist on the classic Frankenstein formula. Set in 1989, a high school outcast named Lisa accidentally revives a handsome corpse from the Victorian era and resolves to rebuild him into the perfect man.
It wouldn’t be surprising ifLisa Frankensteinhad a major critical reevaluation in the years to come. Though it didn’t have strong reviews or box office performances,the heavily stylized and offbeat horror comedy was written by Diablo Cody,who also wrote the cult classicJennifer’s Body. LikeJennifer’s Body,Lisa Frankensteinstruggled to find an audience despite having a compelling emotional core between Lisa (Kathryn Newton) and the Creature (Cole Sprouse).
The misunderstood and death-obsessed Lisa finally meets her match in the Creature,a man from the Victorian era who never found love and is resurrected to meet Lisa. They make the perfect pair, and though they embark on a killing spree to bring the Creature fully back to life, this doesn’t stop the audience from rooting for them. Though they’re a little different, Lisa and the Creature find solace in their mutual understanding, which is once in a lifetime.
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Crimson Peak
In turn-of-the-century England, young heiress Edith Cushing marries Sir Thomas Sharpe, who whisks her off to his family’s mansion in a largely rural and mountainous region. But when she is visited by spirits and inflicted with mysterious ailments, she discovers that her charming new husband is not who he appears to be.
The gruesome secret the characters are hiding inCrimson Peakentrenches the narrative in horror territory, but there’s also a genuinely sensitive love story within the narrative. Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, a young woman who falls in love with the handsome and mysterious Thomas (Tom Hiddleston), only to discover that he isn’t telling her everything. At the start of the movie,Thomas is only using Edith on behalf of his evil sister, but by the end, he grows to truly love her.
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In his twisted way, Thomas ends up helping Edith escape the clutches of his sister and start a new life, even though he’s the source of her terror and mystery for so long. It’s a complicated and imperfect romance, but it’s impossible not to feel for Thomas and Edith, as any chance they had at a normal life is squashed. However,Edith’s love and faith in herself are what bring her out of the nightmareand help her move on from Thomas.
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Jennifer’s Body
Directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body is a horror-comedy film starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. When a newly possessed high school cheerleader (Fox) turns into a succubus specializing in seducing and killing her male classmates, her best friend (Seyfried) is the only thing that stands in the way of her sultry killing spree.
Jennifer’s BodyandLisa Frankensteinshare a movie universe, which makes sense sinceJennifer’s Bodywas an earlier project penned by the writer Diablo Cody.Today,Jennifer’s Bodyis regarded as a seminal cult classicand a truthful examination of girlhood and the love shared by young women. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried play Jennifer and Needy, the best friends who are simultaneously jealous of and enamored with each other. This complex relationship is further complicated when Jennifer is possessed by a demon.
Whether or not the audience interprets the relationship between Needy and Jennifer as fully romantic, this doesn’t take away from the fact that the pair share a deep bond and mutual love.Jennifer’s Bodyexplores how adolescence impacts young women and drives them apartto see each other as competition and objectify themselves. Needy’s actions prove how much she loves the real Jennifer, as she won’t let the demon inhabit her any longer and will stop at nothing to get revenge on the people who did this to her.
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Bones and All
Bones and All is a horror/romantic drama from director Luca Guadagnino starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as two new cannibalistic lovers living on the fringes of society. When Maren (Russell) falls back into her compulsion to eat flesh at a slumber party, she is sent out on the run to avoid being arrested. She soon meets Lee (Chalamet), another “eater,” just like her. The two begin an intense romance as they finally find someone who understands them - but unfortunately for them, they aren’t the only eaters nearby.
There’s something about cannibal movies that lend themselves to being such a clear and direct metaphor for the act of love, andBones and Alltackles this history. Two cannibals find each other as they wander the U.S., played by Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothée Chalamet). This setting allows the director, Luca Guadagnino, to incorporate elements of the Western and aBonnie and Clyde-esque narrative into the film. InBones and All,Maren and Lee can’t help being cannibals any more than they can help falling in love.
By the movie’s end, it’s clear that they love each other for their flaws, not in spite of them.
Their coming-of-age and search for acceptance plays out through their growing connectionand the isolation they impose on themselves to cultivate their lifestyle. Of course, being a cannibal isn’t sustainable, and it doesn’t take long for their past to catch up with them, cementing the pair as star-crossed lovers forever. However, through each other, Lee and Maren find some peace and reckon with the darkest parts of themselves. By the movie’s end, it’s clear that they love each other for their flaws, not in spite of them.
Bones and All (2022)
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Warm Bodies
Based on a novel and inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies stars Nicholas Hoult as R, a zombie living in an abandoned airport who falls in love with a living girl despite his undead status. As R works to protect the girl, Julie, from his fellow zombies, her presence begins to help him remember what is was like to be alive. Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, and John Malkovich also star.
Love conquers all, even a zombie plague, inWarm Bodies, one of the most hopeful horror romances of the past several decades.Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer play the lovers in this takeoff ofRomeo and Juliet,as plays a zombie, R, who longs to be human and does so through this romance with Julie (Palmer). Of all the post-apocalyptic stories out there,Warm Bodiestells a more touching and hopelessly romantic tale than most.
Through Julie’s belief in him, R is able to start transforming back into a human,demonstrating that the cure for the undead is acceptance and love. While this narrative could have easily leaned into sappy or corny territory,Warm Bodiesbalances its sincerity with plenty of zombie humor and compelling stakes. R’s life hangs in the balance as the pair attempt to convince others that he’s not like other zombies and that there’s a way to save the world.
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Corpse Bride
Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton, Corpse Bride is a stop-motion fantasy-horror musical released in 2005. Set in the Victorian Era in England, a groom named Victor accidentally weds Emily, a skeletal woman, while practicing his vows alone in a forest. Whisked away to the Land of the Dead, Victor attempts to help Emily with the circumstances surrounding her fate while trying to escape his new temporary undead home.
There isn’t just one love story inCorpse Bride, buta love triangle between Victor, his human fiancée Victoria, and his dead wife Emily.Though Victor is determined to get back to the land of the living and marry Victoria, he can’t help finding himself falling for Emily and feeling for her tragic tale. In life, Emily never found true love. She was duped by a malicious pretender and murdered for her money, cursed to always be a bride waiting for her groom.
It’s clear throughoutCorpse Bridethat the line between life and death cannot be easily crossed and that Victor’s place is with the living.
It’s clear throughoutCorpse Bridethat the line between life and death cannot be easily crossed and that Victor’s place is with the living. In allowing Victor to return to his world,Emily finds peace within herself, and Victor becomes a better and more caring manthrough his time with Emily. The visuals brilliantly set the tone for their tragic tale. Of the manystunning stop-motion animation movies,Corpse Bridemakes good use of its medium, even if it isn’t as visually complex as similar works likeCoralineorThe Nightmare Before Christmas.
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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Directed by Burr Steers, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies follows five sisters who face the pressure of marriage in 19th Century England, while zombies run the streets. The film is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, which itself parodies Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Lily James leads the film alongside Sam Riley, Jack Huston, and Bella Heathcote.
Of the many screen iterations of Jane Austen’s seminal work,Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesis one of the most unexpected but delightful.Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesdoesn’t pretend to be a deep or searching exploration of humanity and society like its source material. However, it is plenty of fun and does justice to the iconic romance.Lily James tries her hand at playing the well-known heroine, Elizabeth Bennet,with Sam Riley as her love interest, Mr. Darcy.
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Simultaneously hitting the novel’s story beats while seamlessly weaving zombies into the narrative,Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesdoesn’t let the action and gore detract from the romance.James and Riley have good chemistry, exploring the banter and mental sparring of the characters as much as the physical attraction. The fact that the characters are also highly skilled fighters makes their scenes together all the more dynamic and intriguing. Thankfully,Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesends with a white wedding, just like the novel.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
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Underworld
Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film directed by Len Wiseman. The plot revolves around Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire warrior caught in a centuries-old conflict between vampires and Lycans, a race of werewolves. As she delves deeper into the ongoing war, Selene uncovers hidden truths that challenge her allegiance and perception of both factions. The film features a dark, gothic aesthetic and blends elements of horror and thriller genres.
Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, the lethal vampire assassin inUnderworld,who comes to question what she believes thanks to her relationship with Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman). When the audience first meets Selene, she vehemently hates Lycans, AKA werewolves, and does everything she can to stop them. However, it turns out that Michael is a hybrid of Lycans and vampires, which could disrupt the war and awaken Selene to the truth of her past.
It soon comes to be that Selene must choose between her allegiance to the vampires and her newfound love for Michael, pitting the pair of them against the most powerful forces in the world.
Though she’s hesitant to trust him,it doesn’t take long for Selene to start breaking down her walls when Michael shows genuine interestin her. It soon comes to be that Selene must choose between her allegiance to the vampires and her newfound love for Michael, pitting the pair of them against the most powerful forces in the world. However, because of their connection and deep love, the choice is obvious.
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Little Shop of Horrors
Based on the stage musical of the same name, Little Shop of Horrors stars Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn, a shy young man working at a florists shop in New York City who acquires a strange plant that begins to bring in more business for the shop. When Seymour learns that the plant is not only sentient but requires human blood to grow, he comes caught up in a nightmarish farce in order to keep the plant fed. Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, and Steve Martin also star.
The campy classic movie musicalLittle Shop of Horrorsadapted the stage musical of the same name and has come to be regarded as one of the best horror comedies of all time. However, that isn’t to say that romance isn’t a large part of why audiences adoreLittle Shop of Horrors, asthe relationship between Seymour (Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene) is iconic.Even as Seymour sinks deeper into his doomed partnership with the evil plant, Audrey II, all he wants is to be with the real Audrey.
It takes a long time for Audrey and Seymour to admit their mutual feelings for each other,but once they do, it results in an explosion of music and passion. ThoughLittle Shop of Horrorsis a distinctly comedic addition to thehorrorgenre, there are some scary moments that juxtapose the overarching love story between Seymour and Audrey. Though neither character is perfect, they do fit together and make a sweet pair.
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