Thehorrorand romance genres don’t often overlap. Plenty ofhorror moviesfeature couples, and it’s not unusual to see romantic partners taking on serial killers, supernatural forces, and other great evils. But movies built around the horror of the coupling itself are a bit rarer. That is exactly what is so scary about these 10 movies.
You’ve likely heard of people watching romcoms to find inspiration for their ideal partnership – maybe you’ve even done it yourself. But knowing which green flags to look for is only half the battle. If you want to know when you should run screaming from a date, these 10 horror movies are here for you.
10Companion: Iris & Josh
Power Imbalances Can Be Unhealthy
2025’sCompanionis a horror comedy movie directed by Drew Hancock, and it features one of the most toxic movie relationships of the year.The protagonist of the film is Sophie Thatcher’s Iris, who believes she’s dating Jack Quaid’s Josh. While on a lakehouse vacation, however, she makes the horrifying discovery that she is an android who has been programmed to love him.
Themain relationship inCompanionis clearly toxic, but if the movie’s killings and violence aren’t horrifying enough, there are other aspects that make it problematic. Josh’s possessive attitude toward Iris is at the core of this toxicity. Since Josh bought Iris, he believes that he owns her, leading to him controlling and abusing her.
When Iris discovers her true nature, Josh immediately begins attempting to deactivate her. This draws parallels to real-life relationships where one member attempts to keep another from truly discovering themselves. Josh wanted to keep Iris ignorant in order to control her; you should avoid relationships where discovering your true self is seen as a threat.
9Little Shop Of Horrors: Seymour & Audrey
Devotion Should Have A Limit
Little Shop of Horrorsis one of the most famous horrorromances, and the 1986 film adaptation directed by Frank Oz is arguably the most enduring version of it. The main romance in this film is between Rick Moranis' Seymour Krelborn, a Skid Row flower shop employee, and Ellen Greene’s Audrey, an innocent woman caught in an abusive relationship with a dentist.
Audrey’s true romance is with Seymour, but their bond ends up no less toxic for her. Despite Audrey being obsessed with Seymour,he feels as if he isn’t enough for her. He believes so firmly that he needs success to be worthy of her that he lets a talking, human-eating plant named Audrey II manipulate Seymour into killing people.
His low self-confidence destroys their relationship and even leads to Audrey’s death. It may be romantic to think that Seymour would do anything for Audrey, but healthy relationships set boundaries around things like murder.
8Ready Or Not: Grace & Alex
When You Marry Someone, You Also Marry Their Family
2019’sReady or Notis a horror comedy movie directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and it features one of cinema’s most horrific romances. The movie takes place in the aftermath of a wedding between Samara Weaving’s Grace and Mark O’Brien’s Alex Le Domas. Grace must visit the estate of the Le Domas family, and things quickly take a terrifying turn.
As part of a strange ritual, Grace is forced to play a game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws, starting at midnight. They then hunt Grace down with weapons and aim to kill her by dawn, believing a curse will kill them all instead if they don’t. Despite Alex purportedly loving Grace, he knowingly puts her in danger, with him bending the knee to his family’s traditions until thevery end ofReady or Not.
Alex’s attitude toward his family is what makes his romance with Grace toxic. Curse or no curse, he refuses to give up his family’s backward ways for his wife, losing both worlds while attempting to balance them. Remember: If your significant other won’t protect you from their family’s murder-ritual, they just don’t deserve you.
7Midsommar: Dani & Christian
Staying In Relationships For The Wrong Reasons Has Consequences
2019’sMidsommaris the second feature film directed by Ari Aster and follows Florence Pugh’s Dani, a young woman who recently lost her entire family in a tragic murder-suicide.Christian, her boyfriend, reluctantly invites Dani on a trip to Sweden with his friendsin an attempt to make her feel better, and things quickly take a dark turn for both of them.
Midsommarreveals that Christian was planning on breaking up with Dani before her tragedy, only to find himself unable to leave her in her grief. Ultimately, though, he did her a disservice by staying. Had he been honest and not let a bad relationship linger on, Dani might not have been as susceptible to the machinations of the creepy Swedish cult they end up in.
So, don’t stay in an unhappy relationship, even if it feels like you should. And if youdofind out your toxic partner doesn’t want to be with you, maybe don’t take things as far as Dani does.
6Bones And All: Maren & Lee
Don’t Feed Each Other’s Toxic Traits
Luca Guadagnino returned to the world of romances withBones and All, albeit with a twist: the lovers are cannibals.Bones and Alltells the story of Taylor Russell’s Maren, a runaway teenage cannibal who meets and develops a romance with Timothée Chalamet’s Lee, a fellow Eater.
ThroughoutBones and All, Lee accepts Maren for who she is, further pulling her into the world of cannibals. Although her cannibalism hurts those around her and makes her an outcast from society, Lee tells her to lean into it, enabling her.
This is clearly an allegory for addiction,with Lee being similar to those who enable and encourage dangerous patterns of behavior in relationships. These are obviously not great people to be in a relationship with, even when they aren’t telling you to eat people.
5Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary & Guy
Beware Of Gaslighting
Directed by Roman Polanski,1968’sRosemary’s Babytells the story of expecting mother Rosemary Woodhouse, played by Mia Farrow, and her husband Guy, played by John Cassavetes. While preparing for her child’s birth, Rosemary begins to suspect that a Satanic plot is occurring within their apartment complex, something that Guy denies.
Guy is one of the foremost examples of a gaslighter, and people like Guy should really be avoided.This is one of the most toxic traits that can be found in a relationship.Even if the gaslighting has nothing to do with a Satanic cult, it can still take a massive toll on the person who is being gaslit.
4Pearl: Pearl & The Projectionist
Some People Just Want To Use You
Director Ti West’s 2022 filmPearlis another horror romance film, but it takes on the unique quality of having the protagonist be the toxic one. Aprequel toX,Pearltells the story of Mia Goth’s titular aspiring actress, who falls in love with David Corenswet’s projectionist. The unstable young woman is ultimately his undoing.
Throughout the movie, Goth’s heroine uses the projectionist, only running to him when she isn’t happy with her life. This is especially noticeable in the scene where Pearl kills her mother, drives to the theater, and has sex with him. She seemingly doesn’t even know the projectionist’s name –hugered flag!
3Possession: Mark & Anna
Some Couples Bring Out The Worst In Each Other
Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 filmPossessionis considered to be one of the best horror movies about a relationship, with it following Sam Neill’s Mark and Isabelle Adjani’s Anna. This time, both members of the relationship are incredibly toxic.
Mark is possessive of Anna, with the movie following his attempts to control her. He hires a private investigator to follow her, seeking out information that contradicts the version of Anna that lives in his head. He discovers a murderous and supernatural plot in his search, although this is all analagous for their toxic relationship.
Anna, on the other hand, haslet her unhappiness with her life start to affect those around her. While she is a victim, her neglect of her son turns him into a victim, too. It’s best not to let things like jealousy and discontent fester.
2The Shining: Jack & Wendy
If You Need Help, Don’t Isolate Yourself
When it comes to bad marriages in horror, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 filmThe Shiningcomes immediately to mind. It tells the story of the Torrance family, with Jack Nicholson’s Jack and Shelley Duvall’s Wendy taking their son to the remote Overlook Hotel, where Jack has agreed to be the winter caretaker.
Soon after getting there, Jack unravels and attempts to murder his wife and son with an ax. Obviously, that kind of thing can kill even the healthiest of romances. However, it is believed that Jack’s rampage is an allegory for alcoholism, something that waseven more prevalent in Stephen King’s originalThe Shiningnovel.
Jack is the type of person who succumbs to his addiction rather than trying to get help, causing him to hurt his family. If you believe you’re facing a similar dynamic, isolating yourselves in a haunted hotel for months isn’t the recommended course of action.
Finally,Michael Shanks' 2025 filmTogetheris one of the most recent examples of a horror romance that you shouldn’t be part of. The film tells the story of Dave Franco’s Tim and Alison Brie’s Millie, two characters in a long-term relationship who move away from the city and to the country.
Upon arriving, the couple goes on a hike, with them getting trapped in a cave and drinking some water from within. They soon find themselves drawn to each other, with their bodies literally beginning to merge. Discovering that they can’t stand to be apart, they must figure out how to survive without literally becoming one person.
Both characters inTogetherhave major relational issues.Each secretly fears that the other doesn’t love them anymore, and they also worry they are incomplete without each other. These anxieties and lack of confidence in their relationship lead to behaviors that reinforce these beliefs, turning into a vicious circle.
While it is okay to have fears and doubts, allowing them to dictate your relationship is not healthy. They can even become self-fulfilling prophecies if you let them.
