Swap roses and candles this Valentine’s for thorns and fire with this selection of heart-pounding horror hits.
Red is the colour of love. Wrong. It’s for blood. Red is for blood.
Film New Blitz’s RC Stacey scares Cupid away with his grisly date night picks
A first date from hell, a cross-species mutation love triangle, soul searching after a family tragedy with a talking fox – these insidious films are the perfect antidote to the regular, schmaltzy fare of Valentine’s Day. Forget quotable lines from over-lit leads with inimitable grace and beauty: I’ll have what she’s having, if she’s having buckets of blood.
‘The Fly’ (1986)
Obsessed with the relationship between the body and the machine, Canada’s gross-out maestro David Cronenberg introduces impossibly handsome Jeff Goldblum to a teleportation device that, shock horror, splices his DNA with that of a common housefly. Initially, Goldblum’s mad-capped scientist benefits from super-strength, but it isn’t long before he and lover Geena Davis discover the horrifying truth. Not for the faint of heart, or for people who really love baboons. And if that’s not enough, the nightmare birth scene will have you reaching for the pause button.
‘Possession’ (1981)
Arguably the best-crafted film on this list, Possession can boast legitimately stunning performances from leads Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill as a married couple in the throes of divorce who trade kisses as easily as screams. Writer/Director Andrzej Żuławski is no stranger to the disturbing, but this quasi-surrealist study of uncoupling and re-coupling (including what can only be described as a demon squid?) might be the perfect warning against divorce, or even getting married in the first place. More psychological than outright disgusting, this one will linger in the mind (so long as you can get on board with the ADR voices).
‘Antichrist’ (2009)
2009’s most complained about film (although by the BBFC’s own admission, whilst I was on a tour of their offices, every complainant hadn’t seen the film), this heartbreaking and utterly disturbing analysis of a married couple after the death of their child is one of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences you’re likely to have. Talking Dead foxes, an unconventional use for garden shears, and a terrifying take on the ‘cabin in the woods’ trope form part of the Depression trilogy. Antichrist might be described as Danish provocateur Lars Von Trier’s bleakest work, if he hadn’t made Dancer in the Dark (2003). Still, it’s sure to make you and your date feel awful after its surprisingly brief runtime.
‘Audition’ (1999)
A lonely widower on a blind date with a mysterious and alluring woman – what could possibly go wrong? Likely shock-auteur Takashi Miike’s most well-known film, Audition, brought the torture genre to the masses and went on to inspire films like Saw and Hostel, which should paint the picture for you right off the bat. Running at just shy of 2 hours, the film ultimately becomes an endurance test of just how much stomach-turning terror you can stomach as widower Shigeharu Aoyama is put through the worst first date of all time. So, it might make for a fun little game with you and your date? Or, at the very least, help you both trauma bond.
What do you think of the list? What are you watching this Valentine’s Day?
READ NEXT – Film opinion: The standout movies yet to hit cinemas in 2026
