Valentine’s Day: a holiday peddled by Hallmark to make people believe that love is only special one day a year. As is the case every year, the closer to V-Day, the more stores erupt with pink mylar balloons and heart-shaped chocolates. Restaurants craft specialty dinners to upcharge patrons for a night of romance. If you strip back all the superficial layers of what Valentine’s Day represents, it looks like cotton candy: colorful and fun on the outside with no real substance on the inside. In reality, delving into the origins of Valentine’s Day reveals darker, bloodier tales. With its dark origins in mind, here are five horror films that show that love ain’t all what it’s cracked up to be. It’s the ‘anti Valentines Day’ movies list.
Significant Other (2022)
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Synopsis: Follows a young couple who take a remote backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest and face sinister events leading them to realize that everything about the place is not as it seems.
Why You Should Watch: Dan Berk and Robert Olsen direct Significant Other. The film follows a relationship that plummets into a tale of horror. Maika Monroe and Jake Lacy star as the couple in what’s supposed to be one of the most significant and happy moments in their relationship. The story unravels into a cosmic nightmare. Best to go into this one as blind as possible.
Where to Watch: Significant Other is streaming on Paramount+.
What Keeps You Alive (2018)
Synopsis: Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
Why You Should Watch: Directed by Colin Minihan, What Keeps You Alive is a love story that quickly turns sour. The movie follows what happens when secrets are exposed during a trip to a remote cabin for an anniversary celebration. It’s scary in a way that will make you question if you ever truly know someone. Hannah Emily Anderson and Brittany Allen both star.
Where to Watch: What Keeps You Alive is streaming on AMC+ and Tubi.
Jagged Mind (2023)
Synopsis: Billie is plagued by blackouts and strange visions that lead her to discover she’s stuck in a series of time loops, possibly related to her mysterious new girlfriends.
Why You Should Watch: Directed by Kelley Kali and starring Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward, Jagged Mind paints a colorful picture of a blossoming new relationship that is indicative of happiness and love. But soon, the colors fade away into sharp, fractured memories leading to a surprise no one sees coming.
Where to Watch: Jagged Mind is streaming on Hulu.
The Invitation (2015)
Synopsis: When a man accepts an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife, the unsettling past reopens old wounds and creates new tensions.
Why You Should Watch: Directed by Karyn Kusama, The Invitation is a reminder as to why it’s never a good idea to revisit your ex. Starring Logan Marshall-Green, the film has one of the most memorable endings in modern horror. This slow burn thriller will make you think twice before agreeing to that next couple’s dinner party.
Where to Watch: The Invitation is streaming on Peacock.
Fresh (2022)
Synopsis: After quitting dating apps, a woman meets the supposedly perfect man and accepts his invitation to a romantic weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.
Why You Should Watch: Directed by Mimi Cave and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, Fresh is a modern tale of online dating gone bad. It gives hope to finding a romantic spark before quickly tumbling into indescribable horror. Some scenes may be hard to swallow due to the gore that comes along with the films premise. But the overall film has enough humor to help offset that.
Where to Watch: Fresh is streaming on Hulu.
Are you not in the mood for traditional romance? Check out any of the above five anti Valentines Day movies to get your love-hating fix.
