It’s the season of love once again, which means it’s time for chalky candy and big red hearts on every store shelf. Valentine’s Day has always been the perfect opportunity to indulge in expensive tastes and cozy romance stories, with plenty of romcoms and dramas alike taking place during the titular holiday. Regardless of how you may feel about the holiday, it presents a perfect opportunity to kick back and turn on a fun movie.
So you and your new flame are looking for something to watch together on Valentine’s Day. Or maybe you’re single and want to watch something to make you forget all about it. If that’s the case, you may want a chilling horror movie to sour the mood. Whatever your feelings are about big red hearts, enormous teddy bears, dozens of roses, and boxes of chocolates, we’ve got you covered. Whether you love the holiday or not, these horror films for Valentine’s Day are sure to make your skin crawl.
Updated January 31, 2025: This collection of horror films for Valentine’s Day has been updated with brand-new information, including where to find each film featured on streaming.
16
Valentine (2001)
Valentine may have come out in 2001, but it’s packed with some of everyone’s ’90s faves, like David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Marley Shelton, and Katherine Heigl. The movie starts with a flashback to a Valentine’s Day dance in the ’80s, where four mean girls have, one by one, turned down the same social outcast who asks them to dance. A fifth girl says yes, only to accuse him of assault when they’re caught in an intimate moment. The misfit is publicly humiliated and later ends up institutionalized. 13 years later, the ladies are all doing fine, until someone in a cupid mask shows up with obscene valentines, maggot-filled chocolates, and a taste for revenge. Predictably, the women all turn on each other in their attempts to survive as they race to discover who the mad killer could possibly be.
An Underrated Slasher
Directed by Jamie Blanks, Valentine holds the rare distinction of being a slasher themed directly after the titular holiday. Denise Richards does a fine job here in one of her early horror roles, following her work on the cult horror classic Tammy and the T-Rex, and the masked killer even goes so far as to use a thematically-appropriate bow and arrow to take out one of his victims. While not a massive hit critically or commercially, it did earn several nominations at the Teen Choice Awards, along with featuring a delightfully cheesy licensed soundtrack full of hard rock and metal staples from the time. Buy or Rent Valentine on Prime Video.
15
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
My Bloody Valentine also starts with a Valentine’s Day dance. But this one is for the whole town of Valentine Bluffs. However, the yearly event is canceled after a mining mishap leaves only one man alive, forcing him to turn to cannibalism to survive, which puts a damper on the town’s enthusiasm for dancing. The next year, the same miner sends out Valentine’s chocolates containing human hearts, but once he’s safely institutionalized, the dance is back on, and a group of local teens is super-excited. However, wouldn’t you know it, people start losing their hearts and their heads, and the culprit is a mysterious killer clad in mining gear.
Too Gory for the MPAA
Be warned that this is a gore-fest, and at the time of its release, a whopping nine minutes were cut by the MPAA so it could keep an R-rating. There’s more to look forward to than just gore, though. A genuine mystery carried by the cast’s authentic performances, some impressive on-location cinematography, and retrospective praise from popular filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino make My Bloody Valentine a genuine gem in the slasher genre. If you want a particularly bitter film for Valentine’s Day, My Bloody Valentine is an excellent pick. Buy or Rent My Bloody Valentine on Prime Video.
14
Thirst (2009)
Park Chan-wook’s 2009 horror film, Thirst, combines a deadly plague, vampires, and Émile Zola’s 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin with thoroughly satisfying results. Parasite’s Song Kang-ho is Sang-hyun, a disillusioned Catholic priest who volunteers for an experiment to cure a usually fatal disease. His survival after a blood transfusion makes him and his church famous, a welcome development until he discovers that he is now a vampire. He desperately tries to avoid killing as a means of obtaining blood, until he falls for Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), the wife of his sickly childhood friend. Tae-ju is meek and seemingly abused by her husband and mother-in-law — or is she? After a brief period of exhilaration, Sang-hyun realizes that his own unhappiness with his new condition, combined with Tae-ju’s growing appetite for violence, calls for desperate measures.
A Different Kind of Vampire Film
Equally tense, frightening, and enthralling, this adult horror film is one you can’t afford to miss. It’s as sensual as it is spine-tingling, putting an original spin on a classic story setup while building a convincing relationship between Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-vin. It’s worth mentioning that this particular horror film was a huge splash at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival as well, not only winning the Jury Prize but also earning a nomination for the coveted Palme d’Or. Co-writer Jeong Seo-kyeong would later collaborate with Park Chan-wook on the equally-acclaimed erotic thriller, The Handmaiden, in 2016. Buy or Rent Thirst on Apple TV.
13
Ready or Not (2019)
In Ready or Not, Grace (Samara Weaving) was a foster child, so when she marries Alex, who comes from a large, wealthy family that she meets all at once on their wedding day, she’s a little overwhelmed. They’re catty, snobbish, and more than a little weird. Shortly after, they make her draw a card and then play a game of hide-and-seek. But this is no ordinary game. Grace’s new family intends to hunt her down and ritually sacrifice her before dawn. To be fair, Alex attempts to help her escape — but then again, he took her home to his family, knowing full well that this was a possibility. Grace is pretty much on her own, running through the mansion, ripping off bits of her lovely wedding dress as she tries to survive until dawn.
Surviving Your In-Laws
The lesson here is to get to know your in-laws before the wedding. Co-directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Abigail, Scream VI), this cat-and-mouse horror thriller is sure to appease anyone who’s been brushed off by their in-laws. The score by Brian Tyler (Bug, The Final Destination) only adds to the ratcheting tension on-screen. Though the film was produced on a surprisingly modest budget, it would go on to take in more than $57 million at the box office — more than nine times its original budget. If you want to see Samara Weaving thrive as a final girl, this is the film for you. Buy or Rent Ready or Not on Prime Video.
12
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
In Only Lovers Left Alive, Eve (Tilda Swinton) and Adam (Tom Hiddleston) are a couple of the coolest, most attractive vampires you’ll ever come across. They’re cultured, erudite, stylish, and have great friends, like Kit Marlowe (John Hurt). They’ve been married for just about forever and spend a lot of time apart, during which time Adam has become morbid and suicidal. They reunite when Eve senses his despondency and things are on the up, but when her naughty sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) arrives, she brings a heap of trouble with her.
A Dreamlike Vampire Story
Only Lovers Left Alive is very much a film by Jim Jarmusch, and the vampire lovers spend a lot of their time contemplating art, technology, and philosophy. It’s a drowsy, swoony kind of film that’s perfect to watch with the person you’d like to spend forever with. It would go on to earn a Palme d’Or nomination at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and though its box office returns were paltry, contemporary and retrospective critics alike have since dubbed the film one of Jim Jarmusch’s best works. Buy or Rent Only Lovers Left Alive on Prime Video.
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11
Revenge (2018)
In Revenge, Jen (Matilda Lutz) is looking forward to a weekend with her married lover Richard (Kevin Janssens) at his isolated desert home before he goes off for a hunting trip with the boys. Unfortunately, “the boys”, Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchède), crash the party a few days early. While Richard is out of the house, Stan assaults Jen, and to make matters worse, Richard, upon his return, tries to pay Jen off to shut her up. Jen’s retaliatory threat to tell Richard’s wife doesn’t help matters, and suddenly she’s got three men with hunting gear chasing her through the desert. Jen falls off a cliff and gets impaled on a tree, but what should be the end is just the beginning. Jen is going to get her revenge.
From the Director of The Substance
The unrelenting desert setting lends the whole thing a decidedly Mad Max air as Jen enacts her take-no-prisoners vengeance. Writer and director Coralie Fargeat does an impeccable job of capturing the raw emotions and brutal violence of this particular tale, ultimately earning a nomination for Best Director and Best Limited Feature at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. If you want a fantastic subversion of a particularly nasty subgenre of horror, Revenge successfully pulls it off and then some. Stream Revenge on Shudder.
10
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was billed as “the first Iranian vampire Western.” Its heroine is The Girl (Sheila Vand), a skateboarding, chador-wearing vampire who hearkens back to the lonely heroes of classic spaghetti Westerns, roaming the streets alone at night. She rights wrongs in her own vampiric manner, killing pimps and protecting the weak. She crosses paths with Arash (Arash Marandi), a young man struggling to make ends meet with his drug-addicted father. The Girl saves Arash when he’s lost and addicted to ecstasy, and he responds with a kindness she is unused to.
A Stylish and Creative Film
The film is in black-and-white, a rarity for films nowadays, though its purposeful lack of color makes for a fascinating watch. The soundtrack features music by Radio Tehran and Federale, and the surrounding film is generally the coolest Nosferatu-tinged Western you’re ever going to see. A dissection of what it means to be a vampire, this stylish horror flick is sure to leave an impact on you and your potential viewing partner. Buy or Rent A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night on Apple TV.
9
Beast (2017)
Starring a mesmerizing Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn, Beast is billed as a thriller, but if you’re doing any dating currently, it feels more like horror. Buckley’s Moll has a shadowy, troubled past, of which she is constantly reminded by her disapproving family. Flynn’s Pascal arrives seemingly out of nowhere with a hunting rifle, saving Moll from possible assault by a young man she met at a nightclub.
Moll falls for Pascal despite the warnings of her family, and their burgeoning relationship coincides with the murders of several local young girls. Because of her own misunderstood past, Moll stands up for Pascal when he is accused of being involved, alienating herself from her family and friends. But how well can you ever really know someone, especially when love gets in the way?
An Underrated Thriller
Not to be confused with the Idris Elba survival thriller of the same name, Beast is a film that tackles the emotional weight and complexity of relationships in a truly captivating way. A disturbing tale at its core, Jessie Buckley manages to reel you in with her incredible lead performance, even making up for some of the film’s shortcomings in other areas. Director Michael Pearce and producer Lauren Dark would later win a BAFTA award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer. Stream Beast on The Roku Channel.
Beast
- Release Date
-
April 18, 2018
- Runtime
-
107 minutes
- Director
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Michael Pearce
-
-
Johnny Flynn
Pascal Renouf
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Trystan Gravelle
Clifford
-
Geraldine James
Hilary Huntington
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8
Thelma (2017)
Joachim Trier directed Thelma — a subtle, supernatural, psychological shocker — just a few years previous to his international success with The Worst Person in the World. Thelma (Eili Harboe) is meek and mild, repressed by ultra-religious parents. Her transition to college in Oslo is not smooth, and she begins to suffer from unexplained seizures at the same time as she finds herself attracted to a classmate, Anja (Kaya Wilkins). The feelings are confusing and not in line with what her parents would want for her, and Thelma is terrified when she wishes the feelings were gone; but it is Anja who disappears, and because Thelma willed it. The realization of her psychokinetic skills brings back a hideous buried memory from the past, involving her baby brother.
An Acclaimed Norwegian Film
The movie tackles religious extremism, and how the lengths we go to in order to stifle ourselves often end up having the opposite effect. While its horror elements are fairly subdued compared to other films in this collection, it’s nonetheless chilling when they come into play, with Thelma‘s higher emotional stakes making them all the more uncomfortable to witness. It would go on to become one of Norway’s Academy Award entries for Best Foreign Language Film, but unfortunately fell just short of a full nomination. Stream Thelma on Kanopy.
7
The Fly (1986)
David Cronenberg took the original 1957 short story and the 1958 film starring Vincent Price and seriously upped the yuck factor of the now-familiar story: a scientific genius believes he’s about to discover side-effect-free teleportation. Spoiler: he doesn’t. The 1986 remake of The Fly stars Jeff Goldblum as Seth, the genius, and Geena Davis as Ronnie, the reporter he’s just getting into a relationship with.
The couple have their ups and downs, and one night, upset during a down phase, Seth drunkenly tries to teleport himself, not noticing that a fly has slipped into the pod with him. All seems fine initially, but Seth quickly begins to deteriorate both mentally and physically. Seth is becoming a human/fly hybrid, and it’s intensely disgusting.
An Iconic Body Horror Film
The Fly is iconic for both Jeff Goldblum and the ever-talented director David Cronenberg, with the film serving as one of the latter’s best films. Geena Davis and John Getz do an impeccable job of selling the horror, and the Academy Award-winning special effects by Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis will surely leave you sick to your stomach. Any body horror fan owes it to themselves to check out this relationship-turned-rotten horror film. Buy or Rent The Fly on Prime Video.
6
Hounds of Love (2016)
Stranger danger doesn’t stop when you get older, folks. Loosely based on the horrific true story of Australian killers David and Catherine Birnie, Hounds of Love follows Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings), a teenager who sneaks out of her unhappy home one night and has the supreme misfortune of running into what seems like a really nice couple, John (Stephen Curry) and Evelyn (Emma Booth). The truth dawns on Vicki fairly quickly that the couple (and John especially) are monsters, and that she will not easily escape their violence and manipulation. Vicki cannily realizes that her only hope of surviving is to become the manipulator herself, and pit the pair against each other.
An Unpleasant Watch
It’s unpleasant, unsettling, nasty, and will make you think twice before making any new friends. Hounds of Love may have only seen a limited release in Australia, but writer and director Ben Young really wrings out a terrifying psychological experience in his first-ever feature-length production. If you ever wanted to see two malevolent lovebirds forced to split apart in a tense thriller, Hounds of Love is a rare film that’ll fulfill that exact need. Hounds of Love is currently unavailable on streaming.
Hounds of Love
- Release Date
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October 7, 2016
- Runtime
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108 minutes
- Director
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Ben Young
- Producers
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Melissa Kelly
-
-
Ashleigh Cummings
Vicki Maloney
-
-
Susie Porter
Maggie Maloney
5
Atlantics (2019)
Mati Diop made her feature directorial debut with Atlantics, which was also the first film directed by a woman of African descent to screen in competition at Cannes. We start with a love triangle in the suburbs of Dakar. Ada (Mame Bineta Sane) is engaged to a rich man, Omar (Babacar Sylla). But she’s really in love with Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré), an underpaid construction worker who, along with his colleagues, is attempting to reach Spain with hopes of a better life. But the young men have not been heard of since they left, and Ada’s wedding hits a snag when Omar’s bed mysteriously catches fire, and she is under suspicion for arson. It soon becomes apparent that the young men have perished at sea, but their ghosts have returned to wreak their revenge on the entrepreneur who had withheld their pay — except for Souleiman, who just pines for Ada.
A Daring Debut
Heady themes of the wealth gap, the refugee crisis, and attitudes towards women contribute towards making this a complex, visually arresting debut. Atlantics made its international debut on Netflix, with former United States President Barack Obama famously including it in his collection of favorite films from 2019. The cinematography by Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) can’t go unnoticed either, making for a haunting film that’s as beautiful as it is perturbing. Stream Atlantics on Netflix.
4
Trouble Every Day (2001)
When Vincent Gallo, Béatrice Dalle, and Alex Descas team up with Claire Denis for an erotic horror film, hold onto your hat, you’re in for a bumpy, bloody ride. In Trouble Every Day, Shane Brown (Gallo) is a doctor who has come to Paris on his honeymoon, but also to track down his old mentor, neuroscientist Léo (Descas). Léo is a shell of his former self, worn out from keeping an eye on his wife, Coré (Dalle), who has been infected with something that compels her to seek out violent sex with men whom she then kills in a particularly brutal manner.
An Extreme French Film
It’s gratuitous and graphic and might convince you to stay single for the rest of your life. Trouble Every Day is often lumped into the wider New French Extremity movement, and for good reason — it’s a graphic watch, even for the most steely of horror fans. While this particular film won’t be to everyone’s taste, what you’ll find is a tense examination of lust under gobs and gobs of blood and viscera. If you want to feel grossed out this Valentine’s Day, give this film a shot. Stream Trouble Every Day on The Criterion Channel.
Trouble Every Day
- Release Date
-
July 11, 2001
- Runtime
-
101 Minutes
3
Audition (1999)
Takashi Miike’s adaptation of a Ryu Murakami novel is quite a cautionary tale for anyone looking to cut a few corners to find love. In Audition, lonely widower and single father Shigeharu gives into his friend’s plan to find him love. They hold a fake casting call for a film, when really Shigeharu is just looking for a date. He falls immediately for the sweet yet elusive Asami, and ignores the red flags on her resume — like her previous employer who happens to be missing. Shigeharu and Asami start dating, and he takes her away for a romantic weekend to propose marriage. But after their first night together, Asami vanishes. Desperate to track her down, Shigeharu continues to ignore some dismal signs. Asami shows up eventually, and it is not a joyful reunion.
A Shocking Ending
Expect Miike’s typical shock value here, as Audition‘s chilling ending is arguably the single most infamous aspect of it. Heralded by Quentin Tarantino and the Soska sisters as an incredible horror film, Audition made a much bigger splash internationally than it did domestically, shocking and inspiring horror aficionados for years to come. What makes it so frightening isn’t necessarily the ending itself, either. It’s the slow, nightmarish build-up to the shocking finale that’s sure to leave your skin crawling. Stream Audition on Shudder.
2
Antichrist (2009)
In Antichrist, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe portray a nameless married couple whose toddler son falls out of a window while they have sex. The wife is crippled by grief, and the husband, a therapist, thinks he would do a better job of helping her heal than the hospital where she receives treatment. The two make a retreat in a secluded cabin in the woods, despite her crippling fear of such a setting. The husband puts her through psychotherapy sessions and things spiral quickly beyond his control as she vacillates between deep depression and mania. What ensues is grisly violence, both physical and sexual, which the couple inflicts upon each other.
Lars von Trier’s Most Depressing Film
Antichrist is one of the most intense films ever made about grief, inspired by von Trier’s own experiences with mental illness, and the first in his Depression trilogy. Filled with powerhouse performances by both Dafoe and Gainsbourg, the limited cast really sells the isolation and sheer intensity of their eventual spiral. Filled with symbolism, intense sequences of violence, and a deeply unsettling atmosphere, Antichrist is sure to make any date night viewing a terrifying ordeal. Stream Antichrist on Kanopy.
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1
It Follows (2014)
It Follows takes the final girl trope and turns it upside down. A teenager named Jay (Maika Monroe) has just slept with her new boyfriend, Hugh. Or, more accurately, they have sex, and then she wakes up tied to a wheelchair, having been chloroformed. Hugh explains that he was afflicted with a curse — one wherein a supernatural entity will give chase to its victim forever, being able to take the form of just about anyone. Should they be killed, it will start pursuing the previous person who passed the curse on through intercourse. A naked woman is immediately on Jay’s tail, and Hugh gets out of there. Luckily, Jay has a sister and some good friends who are willing to help her fight the curse. Jay must decide whether to merely pass the curse on as quickly as possible, or try and confront it head-on.
One of the Best Horror Movies of the 2010s
Universally acclaimed for its meta approach to horror and its ability to work on multiple levels, It Follows was dubbed as one of the best horror movies of the 2010s by several different publications. Maika Monroe’s lead performance, the cinematography by Michael Gioulakis, and the subversive screenplay by writer and director David Robert Mitchell all ooze originality and talent in every accompanying frame. Low on violence, high on entertainment, this horror flick is sure to make the perfect pairing for a first date. Stream It Follows on Max.
