When deciding on the perfect movie to watch during a night in on Valentine’s Day, it might sound unusual to throw out horror as an option. Well, first of all, there are plenty of couples who choose horror movies for date night on a regular basis. Second of all, romance is a key element to some of the best horror movies of all time, whether it be in a fun or even tragic sense.
After all, what better way to feel closer to your significant other than by getting creeped out together with something spooky, bloody, or even morbidly funny? The following are our picks for some romantic classics and modern favorites that do just that.
Beetlejuice (1988)
The lingering spirits of a recently deceased married couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) take desperate measures to scare off the posh, irritating family now occupying their house.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: While Michael Keaton ends up stealing the show with his hilarious performance as the titular bio-exorcist in one of Tim Burton’s best movies, Beetlejuice – which has a sequel on the way called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – is, at its core, a heartwarming story of a husband and wife struggling to make a good life (or, more accurately, afterlife) for themselves.
Rent or buy Beetlejuice on Amazon.
Buy Beetlejuice on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Life After Beth (2014)
A young man (played by Dane DeHaan) is, at first, delighted to discover his girlfriend (played by Aubrey Plaza) has come back from the dead, until she begins to show signs of erratic and deadly behavior.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: In one of two movies on our list about humans falling in love with zombies, Life After Beth – written and directed by Plaza’s real-life husband, Jeff Baena – is easily the more unapologetically disturbing of the two, but is still quite funny.
Stream Life After Beth on Max.
Rent or buy Life After Beth on Amazon.
Buy Life After Beth on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
A miserable musician (played by Tom Hiddleston) is thankfully reunited with his old flame (played Tilda Swinton), whom he has been romantically involved with for centuries.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Only Lovers Left Alive is a powerful story about vampirism and love’s long-lasting power, told in a bizarre and quirky way that only writer and director Jim Jarmusch could.
Stream Only Lovers Left Alive on Pluto TV.
Rent Only Lovers Left Alive on Amazon.
Buy Only Lovers Left Alive on Blu-ray on Amazon.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
A poor, young man (Arash Marandi) is entranced by a mysterious woman (Sheila Vand) who is not quite what she seems.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Another powerful love story on our list that involves themes of vampirism is the modern Iranian classic A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – one of the best horror movies by a female director, namely Ana Lily Amirpour.
Rent or buy A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night on Amazon.
Buy A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Valentine (2001)
Years after they all cruelly rejected their geeky high school classmate at a Valentine’s Day dance, five women suspect he may have returned to seek revenge when they find themselves stalked by a maniac disguised as Cupid.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: In the tradition of holiday-inspired horror flicks like Halloween and creepy cautionary tales like I Know What You Did Last Summer, 2001’s Valentine is an entertaining, Agatha Christie-style cult slasher that could inspire kinder reactions to unwanted romance… if not some killer love letter quotes.
Rent/Buy Valentine on Amazon.
Buy Valentine on DVD on Amazon.
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Citizens of a mining town get their hearts ripped out (literally) when they decide to ignore the legend of a killer who punishes anyone celebrating February 14th.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Exactly 20 years before Valentine, My Bloody Valentine brought terror to the most romantic day of the year and would since be remembered as one of the best ‘80s slasher movies by many fans, such as Quentin Tarantino, for one.
Stream My Bloody Valentine on Pluto TV.
Rent/Buy My Bloody Valentine on Amazon.
Buy My Bloody Valentine on Blu-ray Amazon.
Bride Of Chucky (1998)
Chucky (Brad Dourif), a cuddly doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer, reunites with his former flame, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), by magically transferring her soul into another doll and teaming up to find a pair of new human hosts.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: A sequel to one of the best ‘80s slasher movies that actually encourages a celebration of love is 1998’s Bride of Chucky, which was also the first installment of the Child’s Play movies to really go head first into the franchise’s campier appeal.
Rent/Buy Bride Of Chucky on Amazon.
Buy Bride of Chucky on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
Having inexplicably survived the riotous public reaction to his bizarre creation, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is forced by an even more “mad” scientist to create a female companion for The Monster (horror icon Boris Karloff).
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: A sequel to a classic monster movie that offers a cautionary perspective on love is 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein, which is easily the most definitive and instantly recognizable example of a romantic horror film ever made.
Rent/Buy Bride Of Frankenstein on Amazon.
Buy Bride of Frankenstein on Blu-ray Amazon.
Ready Or Not (2019)
A newly married young woman (played by rising Scream Queen Samara Weaving) learns a dark secret about her wealthy in-laws when a seemingly innocent invitation to play a game on her wedding night turns into a desperate fight for survival.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: One of the best horror-comedy movies in recent memory is 2019’s Ready or Not – a wonderfully manic wild ride from 2022’s Scream filmmakers Radio Silence, that exaggerates any common bride-to-be (or even groom-to-be’s) worst fears to the goriest degree.
Rent or buy Ready or Not on Amazon.
Buy Ready or Not on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
A recently dumped aging slacker (played by co-writer Simon Pegg), along with his even less responsible best friend (played by Nick Frost), tries to rescue his ex-girlfriend (played by Kate Ashfield) and other loved ones from danger after London becomes overrun with reanimated, flesh-eating corpses.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Another bloody brilliant horror-comedy classic is 2004’s Shaun of the Dead – co-writer and director Edgar Wright’s breakout hit that also made history as the first-ever romantic zombie comedy… let alone one of the most surprisingly relatable and grounded zombies movies since George A. Romero invented the sub-genre.
Rent/Buy Shaun of the Dead on Amazon.
Buy Shaun Of The Dead on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Warm Bodies (2013)
A young, reanimated victim of the zombie apocalypse (played by Nicholas Hoult) begins to show unusually human characteristics after crossing paths with a beautiful, female survivor (played by Teresa Palmer).
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: The romantic zombie comedy would continue with an inventive twist in 2013’s Warm Bodies – director Jonathan Levine’s heartwarming adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel that reimagines Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet as a post-apocalyptic, coming-of-age story.
Stream Warm Bodies on Hulu.
Stream Warm Bodies on Peacock.
Stream Warm Bodies on Tubi.
Rent or buy Warm Bodies on Amazon.
Buy Warm Bodies on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
A horrible misunderstanding causes a group of vacationing college students to assume that two well-meaning rednecks (played by Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk) are out to kill them.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Another example of a great horror-comedy about unlikely romance is 2010’s Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, in which Labine’s absent-minded hillbilly, Dale, and his attractive new friend, Allison (Katrina Bowden), begin to grow quite fond of each other amid the ensuing chaos surrounding them in director Eli Craig’s clever slasher send-up.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Amazon Prime.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Hulu.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Tubi.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Peacock.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Pluto TV.
Buy Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Happy Death Day (2017)
A stuck-up sorority girl (played by Jessica Rothe) finds herself trapped in a time loop, which gives her an advantage in attempting to figure out who is trying to kill her and why.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Unlikely romance would continue to be a common theme in the horror-comedy sub-genre with the 2017 release of director Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day, in which Rothe’s character, Tree, begins to grow quite fond of Carter (Israel Broussard) every single time she wakes up in his bed for as long as her nightmarish time loop lasts.
Rent or buy Happy Death Day on Amazon.
Buy Happy Death Day on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Spring (2014)
Desperate for a getaway following the death of his mother, a young American man (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) takes a trip to Italy where he soon falls for a woman (played by Nadia Hilker) who is not quite what she seems.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Less a story about unlikely romance as much as it is a meditation on the transformative power of love, 2014’s Spring is a surprisingly inspirational tale from directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead that imagines what a collaboration between Richard Linklater (a la the Before Trilogy) and H.P. Lovecraft might be like.
Stream Spring on Tubi.
Rent or buy Spring on Amazon.
Buy Spring on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Fly (1986)
Soon after he has struck up a romance with a beautiful journalist (Geena Davis), a brilliant scientist (Jeff Goldblum) begins to undergo a slow, horrifying metamorphosis when his self-conducted test of an instant transportation device goes haywire.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Speaking of transformation, I would not be surprised if Spring was at all inspired by director David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly – one of the best Jeff Goldblum movies that is also widely praised for its astonishing and intense body horror elements (courtesy of Oscar-winning makeup effects) but not praised enough as a moving romantic tragedy.
Rent or buy The Fly on Amazon.
Buy The Fly on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Let The Right One In (2008)
A neglected and bullied young boy (played by Kåre Hedebrant) becomes smitten with a mysterious girl (played by Lina Leandersson) who is hiding a very strange and disturbing secret.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Another film about a person unwittingly falling in love with a supernatural creature is 2008’s Let the Right One In – director Tomas Alfredson’s masterful Swedish vampire drama (which Matt Reeves remade in 2010) that brilliantly exaggerates the perils of developing your first childhood crush to an exceptionally grim degree.
Stream Let The Right One In on Amazon Prime.
Stream Let The Right One In on Peacock.
Stream Let the Right One In on Tubi.
Stream Let the Right One In on Pluto TV.
Buy Let the Right One In on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Ghost (1991)
The lingering spirit of a Manhattan banker (played by Patrick Swayze) enlists a medium (played by Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg) to help him avenge his murder and prevent his girlfriend (played by Demi Moore) from experiencing the same fate.
Why it’s a good date night horror movie: Less a horror film as much as it is an intense supernatural thriller, 1991’s commercially successful Best Picture Oscar nominee Ghost is remembered even better for moments like the memorable pottery spinning scene, set to the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” that make it one of the most uplifting and sexiest films of its time or any time.
Stream Ghost on Max.
Rent or buy Ghost on Amazon.
Buy Ghost on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Call me crazy, but a night of chills and thrills sounds like the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day to me, and, thankfully, my own wife agrees. If that sounds like your kind of date night, you cannot go wrong with any of the titles above.
