I Love You to Death: Ten Must See Horror Romance Movies
I Love You to Death: Ten Must See Horror Romance Movies
By Kelly Florence & Meg Hafdahl
Since Frankenstein’s monster met his pale other half, love has found a way to survive in the horror genre. Why do two such opposing forces, butterflies and chainsaws, work so well together? As the co-authors of the Science of Horror book series we break down the science of both love and fear to understand the sweet as candy interplay between our two favorite genres. Here are ten horror movies with romance that we recommend:
Renfield
This horror comedy from 2023 focuses on Dracula’s assistant, Renfield. While the romance isn’t overt in the film, we couldn’t help but ship Renfield (Nicholous Hoult) and Rebecca (Awkwafina), a police officer trying to get to the bottom of crime in New Orleans. They should be enemies but fight together to defeat the bad guys and Dracula himself. Be still our hearts!
Bones and All
A love story with cannibalism doesn’t sound very romantic but just trust us, okay? While Renfield is all fun and games, Bones and All is more tragedy and drama. By the end you’ll feel like your heart has been ripped out…you know kinda like those people they’re eating.
The Addams Family
Has there ever been a couple more perfect for eachother than Morticia and Gomez? We don’t think so! And their absolute love and respect for one another is #GOALS.
The Shape of Water
Forbidden love or pairings that seem impossible to work are some of our favorites so when a sea creature and a woman fall in love, we’re hooked. (no pun intended)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Another forbidden romance: a vampire and a mortal. But this time, the “girl” (Shelia Vand) is the vampire and they meet at a Halloween party where Arash (Arash Marandi) is dressed as, you guessed it, a vampire. This inversion of gender roles, plus the beautifully filmed aesthetic of the movie makes for a horror-romance experience you won’t soon forget.
Promising Young Woman
If you’ve seen Promising Young Woman, you know it contains a subplot of romance that is completely adorable and also heartwrenching. Cassie (Carrie Mulligan) and Ryan (Bo Burnham) went to medical school together and reconnect at a coffee shop she’s now employed at. He asks her out, she declines. Even spitting in his coffee couldn’t deter him! By the time she gives him a shot, we are ready for the sing-along montage of all the cute things they do together but wait, the horror is coming.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Two of our favorite things: Jane Austen and flesh eating undead. Put them together and you get Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! What’s more romantic than fighting off hungry ghouls with the love of your life? Darcy (Sam Riley) has more than social status to worry about in this version. And if you’re like us, you love the trappings of the Austen era juxtaposed against the backdrop of blood and mayhem. Oh, and Elizabeth (Lily James) is a zombie-killing bad ass!
Freaky
Body swap horror and comedy is done hilariously and earnestly in Freaky from writer Michael Kennedy. The romance is 100% based on personality, and not looks, as Booker (Uriah Shelton) and Millie (Kathryn Newton), who swapped bodies with the Blissfield Butcher played by Vince Vaughn, fall in love.
Shaun of the Dead
One of our favorite horror comedies of all time also contains a sweet love story. Shaun (Simon Pegg) doesn’t just have a zombie apocalypse to deal with, he’s also trying to win back girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) who’s tired of Shaun’s lazy lifestyle. What a great opportunity he has to prove her wrong!
Warm Bodies
Are you sensing a theme? Another zombie movie and this time, the zombie is the love interest! We love this take on the undead, in which a zombie can feel love for Julie, played by scream queen Teresa Palmer. Unlike the simple, brain-hungry creatures of Romero films, Warm Bodies will surprise you with a zombie with a personality. Also, good news, if you thought the lead in Renfield was cute, the same actor, Nicholas Hoult, plays “R” the zombie.
Can’t get enough bloody valentines? May we suggest you check out Lisa Frankenstein in theaters this February 9th, 2024. The film is described as a “coming of rage love story” starring horror queen Kathryn Newton and our Riverdale crush Cole Sprouse.
We’ll be in the front row.
Let us know about your favorite horror romance here at Horror Tree or @kellyflorence and @meghafdahl.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Kelly Florence teaches communication at Lake Superior College in Duluth, MN and is the creator of the Be a Better Communicator podcast. She received her BA in theatre from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and her MA in communicating arts from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She has written, directed, produced, choreographed, and stage managed for dozens of productions in Minnesota including Carrie: The Musical through Rubber Chicken Theatre and Treasure Island for Wise Fool Theater. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly the horror genre. She is the co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King, The Science of Serial Killers, and The Science of Witchcraft with Meg Hafdahl. They co-host the Horror Rewind podcast and write and produce horror projects together. Kelly is repped by Stacey Kondla (Literary Agent) at The Rights Factory and Karmen Wells (TV/Film Agent) at The Rights Factory.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Horror and suspense author Meg Hafdahl is the creator of numerous stories and books. Her fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror and Eclectically Criminal. Her work has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and The Lift, and she is the author of two popular short story collections including Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre. Meg is also the author of the two novels; Daughters of Darkness and Her Dark Inheritance called “an intricate tale of betrayal, murder, and small town intrigue” by Horror Addicts and “every bit as page turning as any King novel” by RW Magazine. Meg, also the co-host of the podcast Horror Rewind and co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King and upcoming The Science of Serial Killers, lives in the snowy bluffs of Minnesota.
Link to author page on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Meg-Hafdahl/e/B01B0W4PHA/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
