Romantic movies aren’t the only ones where relationships serve as the catalyst that propels the story forward. This Valentine’s Day, I’m taking a look at a few couples from horror movies that turn love into a cautionary tale. From obsession to murder, these are five horror movie relationships that will make you glad you’re single.
Warning: this list contains spoilers!
5. Dracula and Mina (Bram Stoker’s Dracula)
The relationship between Dracula and Mina perfectly illustrates that yearning, lust, and obsession do not equate to love. After 400 years of living with the pain of losing the love of his life, Dracula is reignited when he discovers Mina. To get what he believes his heart desires most, he charms and seduces Mina to awaken her past life memories.
Despite the facade of romance, this story recounts a toxic obsession with the reincarnation of his beloved wife. Dracula is not in love. He is obsessed with the pursuit of rekindling a love he once lost to death. Mina, for her part, is bewitched by Dracula’s influence, and while she has the ability to resist, she ultimately chooses to give in to her desires, allowing herself to be swept up in the fantasy of their past love.
Dracula didn’t actually think of what was best for Mina. He made her remember him and their past, eventually turning her into a vampire before his own death. Mina was left with painful memories to bear and scars she’ll have for the rest of her life. She would have been better left alone. The movie ends without revealing her fate, but it’s not hard to imagine that her relationship with Jonathan Harker was in shambles.
4. Dani and Christian (Midsommar)
Caught in the tumultuous emotional whirlwind of losing her family and the growing cold distance from her boyfriend, Christian, Dani becomes a target for manipulation by a cult. Christian spends the entire movie gaslighting her and making her feel isolated during a time when she needed support the most. He gets annoyed when she calls, dismisses her worries about her sister’s failing mental health, minimizes her fears about the violent customs of their foreign surroundings, and, to top it all off, forgets her birthday.
To be fair, Christian isn’t a monster for feeling frustrated or disconnected. However, it’s clear that he was over the relationship long before the events of the movie, yet he chose to be dismissive and cold toward Dani instead of ending things honestly. Dani, for her part, turns a blind eye to Christian’s behavior, making excuses and blaming herself without realizing what is really happening. That’s the power of gaslighting: she thought she was the problem, when in reality the relationship no longer served a purpose, and she was merely being tolerated.
3. Grace and Alex (Ready or Not)
Marrying into a rich family might seem like a dream, except when your new husband is hiding a deadly secret: to join them, you have to risk dying. Without mincing words, Alex’s lies to Grace show that he is selfish and reckless, putting her life in serious danger.
The moral of the story is that marriage is optional. If he truly loved Grace as much as he claimed, he would have told her everything, no matter how crazy it sounded. To make matters worse, he became angry when she defended herself against his mother, an action that resulted in his mother’s death. In the end, he tried to worm his way back into her good graces, not out of genuine remorse, but simply to save himself.
It’s also possible that Alex was far more dubious than he initially appeared. The fact that Grace had no family and lacked Alex’s wealth could have made her the perfect choice in his eyes, an easy target if she was chosen to be hunted. His behavior was shady from the start. However, this is only a working theory.
2. Joanna and Walter (The Stepford Wives)
Joanna and Walter move from fast-paced New York City to the seemingly idyllic town of Stepford, Connecticut. Joanna’s independent, modern nature stands out in stark contrast to the cookie-cutter housewife image of the town’s female residents.
As she discovers that all is not as it seems, her fate has already been decided by her own husband. This is a story of betrayal by the person she trusted most. Although Walter fell in love with Joanna for who she was, secretly he was unhappy with having an untraditional wife and family. He wanted a wife who would cater to every whim and never think for herself, to the point where murdering her seemed like the logical solution.
Sometimes things are not as picture-perfect as they seem, and nefarious intentions can lurk beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment. Joanna’s husband isolated her, removed her from everything she knew, and killed her, ultimately replacing her with an identical robotic substitute.
1. Chucky and Tiffany (Bride of Chucky)
The fourth installment of the Chucky series introduced us to Tiffany Valentine. She’s the ex-girlfriend turned bride of the infamous serial killer (and Andy’s tormentor), Chucky. Their relationship is probably the most toxic on this list. They not only kill together and for each other, but sometimes even turn on one another.
What sets this murderous couple apart is that they are two sides of the same coin. However, compared to her man, Tiffany has slightly more redeeming qualities. Tiffany resurrects Chucky to punish him for leaving her long ago. In a revenge-fueled rage, Chucky kills Tiffany, and through voodoo, she wakes up trapped in a doll’s body.
On a quest to regain human form, they embark on a cross-country killing spree. Their bloodlust occasionally brings them together, creating brief, tender moments, but their love-hate dynamic inevitably turns deadly. Tiffany loves Chucky more than life itself, while Chucky remains hot and cold. Tiffany could probably do better, but her unhealthy love for Chucky keeps pulling her back into the chaos.
Do you agree with my list? Are there any toxic relationships that should added?
