Best Dark Romance Movies

Key Takeaways

• Blue Valentine – A heart-wrenching journey through the unpredictability of love.
• Only Lovers Left Alive – A twist on a centuries-old vampire love story.
• Let the Right One In – A unique mix of horror and romance in a chilling Swedish setting.

The fascinating movies from the niche genre of dark romance explore another side of human desire and take their viewers on intense journeys. It’s not a genre for everyone, and the subject matter is often controversial and unsettling.

Common themes in dark romance movies include forbidden romances and heartbreak, while some deal with mental health issues as well as death. Movie fans can explore post-apocalyptic romance sci-fi movies as well as classic romances inspired by literature and even real historical events

Updated on November 30, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: Dark romance has its popular appeal, with Oscar winners like Poor Things being a popular example. This is an example of a dark romance that is also a comedy and plays with the elements of horror and surrealism, which is a common template for the genre. Many of these romance movies show the tough times in relationships, but fans can also explore supernatural romances where ghosts and eerie secrets are involved or step into fictional worlds where the usual laws of physics don’t apply.

13 Blue Valentine

The Unpredictability Of Love

• Director: Derek Cianfrance
• Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
• Distributed By: The Weinstein Company
• Release Date: December 29, 2010

Blue Valentine is a must-watch for those movie fans who love psychological horror movies. This movie takes viewers on a heartbreaking journey and shows them that love doesn’t always lead to happy-ever-after moments. Instead, it shows the real challenges couples have to face. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and cleverly moves between the passionate beginnings and the heavy-hearted endings of a relationship.

Just as horror movies delve into fears, this film exposes the scary reality of how love can change over time. Dean and Cindy’s relationship, once full of promise, transforms in ways that will remind viewers that love can sometimes be as unpredictable and eerie as any ghost story. It’s a great pick for dark romance lovers who are craving a story that explores the shadowy corners of the heart.

12 Only Lovers Left Alive

A Twist On The Legend Of Adam And Eve

• Director: Jim Jarmusch
• Starring: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin
• Distributed By: Soda Pictures, Pandora Film
• Release Date: April 11, 2014

Adam and Eve have been an on-and-off couple for centuries. They’re vampires and live forever, but that’s the least of their problems. Immortality is exhausting, as it turns out, but vampires also have to deal with mundane issues that pester mortals, like dealing with annoying family members.

Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton star as the main characters, reunited by their mutual disappointment in the evolution of human civilization and watching it crumble from exotic settings like Tangiers and Detroit. A dark romance that’s also a comedy, it’s a creative look at the often-generic vampire genre, and the casting is on-point.

11 Let the Right One In

The Horror Of Romance

• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
• Distributed By: Sandrew Metronome
• Release Date: October 24, 2008

In Let the Right One In, the chilling streets of Sweden set the stage for a romance that’s far from ordinary. The story follows Oskar, a young boy frequently targeted by bullies, who finds solace in Eli, a mysterious girl new to the neighborhood. But as they grow closer, Oskar soon realizes that Eli isn’t just another kid and that she is hiding a supernatural secret.

This unique romance film brilliantly intertwines the eeriness often found in horror movies with the genuine warmth of a budding romance. As their unique bond deepens, the story unravels both the haunting struggles of Eli’s existence and the challenges of Oskar’s daily life. However, this dark tale reminds viewers of the importance of human connections and how they can help us overcome difficult times.

10 Revolutionary Road

Dark Romance In America’s Suburbs

• Director: Sam Mendes
• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn
• Distributed By: Paramount Pictures
• Release Date: December 26, 2008

There are plenty of dark Leonardo Dicaprio movies, but few explore the romance between married people as deeply as Revolutionary Road. This story pulls back the curtain on the allure of 1950s American suburbia to expose its cracks and crevices. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite as Frank and April Wheeler, breathing life into a couple whose outward sparkle hides inner tumult.

Together, they share dreams of a life beyond their white-picket-fence existence. However, these dreams soon clash with harsh truths and societal constraints. Revolutionary Road challenges the notion of the “American Dream” and makes viewers question just how much they’re willing to sacrifice to achieve it. This movie is a deep dive into the intricate dance of aspirations, relationships, and the paths we choose.

9 Anna Karenina

A Stunning Literary Romance And Period Drama

• Director: Joe Wright
• Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald
• Distributed By: Universal Pictures, Focus Features
• Release Date: November 16, 2012

Joe Wright’s most heartbreaking and darkest romance movie is Anna Karenina. This stunning film was inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel of the same title and explores one of the most volatile and dysfunctional relationships ever on screen.

Anna’s forbidden love story with the young Count Vronsky ended up ruining not only her marriage but her entire life and eventually led to her tragic death. Anna Karenina is a great choice for movie fans who love movies based on books and meaningful stories that explore the themes of society, sexual desire, passion, and hypocrisy. Anna Karenina‘s story follows Anna’s journey after the young married woman falls hopelessly in love with a handsome cavalry officer.

8 Crimson Peak

A Haunting Gothic Romance

• Director: Guillermo del Toro
• Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
• Distributed By: Universal Pictures
• Release Date: October 16, 2015

Crimson Peak is one of the most haunting gothic movies, featuring a dark love story between a young girl and a charming and mysterious man. Even though this dark romance movie has supernatural and fantasy elements, it still deals with meaningful themes about sexual passion and family tragedies that can define a person’s life forever.

This atmospheric gothic film is also Guillermo del Toro’s most underrated movie. Crimson Peak follows a young woman’s life after she moves into a ghostly mansion with her new husband and his sister. However, she soon realizes that her new home and her new family have some deadly and dark secrets.

7 Phantom Thread

Art, Life, And Poison

• Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
• Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps
• Distributed By: Focus Features, Universal Pictures
• Release Date: December 25, 2017

According to the plot in Phantom Threads, dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock is the best, most talented tailor that 1950s London has to offer. Anyone who considers themselves one of the city’s elite, from movie stars to royalty, visits his fashion house for the best and latest designs. The romance comes in when Woodcock meets Alma Elson, who becomes his model, muse, and lover until they eventually get married, but only after some dark and even sinister moments.

The couple has a tumultuous relationship and they often fight, one point of contention being that Reynolds is aloof and impossible to please. After one nasty tiff over a “romantic” dinner, Alma decides to put her husband in his place by poisoning his tea with some local mushrooms. She never tells him what she did, but after he recovers and she overhears some unfavorable gossip, she does it again. By the end of the movie, he’s figured out the secret of her cooking prowess and eats the omelet anyway, confirming their mutual enmeshment in a dark romance.

6 The Reader

A Childhood Romance Turns Dark

• Director: Stephen Daldry
• Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross
• Distributed By: The Weinstein Company, Senator Film
• Release Date: December 12, 2008

The Reader is one of the most touching and emotional Kate Winslet movies. In it, she portrayed Hanna, an illiterate woman with a dark secret. The story takes place just after World War II, and it tells the love story between a teen boy named Michael and an older woman named Hanna.

While their romance starts touchingly, it soon turns into a highly dysfunctional one. One day Hanna moves away without a word, leaving the heartbroken young boy behind. Michael doesn’t hear from her for many years until one day he learns that Hanna is on trial for Nazi war crimes.

5 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Burning Passion And Forbidden Love

• Director: Céline Sciamma
• Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel
• Distributed By: Pyramide Films
• Release Date: September 18, 2019

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a perfect choice for those who love great historical movies and thought-provoking horror films with stunning cinema photography. This gorgeous and dark French romance drama tells the passionate love affair between an aristocrat named Marianne and a young painter named Heloise, who was commissioned to paint her portrait.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a slow-burning forbidden love story about just how transformative love can be. While the movie has its sensual and romantic moments, it also has plenty of darker and even terrifying scenes. It’s a great choice for romance movie lovers who prefer intelligent and meaningful stories that will make them reflect on life and true love.

4 Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

The Comedy Of The Apocolypse

• Director: Lorene Scafaria
• Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody
• Distributed By: Focus Features, Lionsgate
• Release Date: June 22, 2012

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World is one of the saddest movies about the end of the world, but it’s also a surprisingly charming yet dark romance. This oddly beautiful film tells the love story between a bland but warmhearted insurance salesman Dodge, and his eccentric young neighbor, Penny.

The plot follows Dodge and Penny’s adventures after they embark on a road trip to find true love before the world is destroyed by an enormous asteroid. It’s a great choice for those who love disaster movies and want to watch a meaningful dark romance movie with relatable characters and dark humor.

3 Cruel Intentions

A Story Of Dangerous Liaisons

• Director: Roger Kumble
• Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
• Distributed By: Sony Pictures Releasing
• Release Date: March 5, 1999

Cruel Intentions is one of the most iconic ’90s movies. Its brilliant cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Ryan Phillippe. This deliciously dark teen romance movie is about two step-siblings Kathryn and Sebastian who make a wager.

They choose Annette, their private school’s headmaster’s innocent daughter, as their target and plan on seducing her and taking her virginity before the start of their next term. This seductive romance thriller is a retelling of Pierre Choderlos de Laclo’s novel and is a great choice for those movie lovers who want to watch a menacing and unique teen romance film.

2 Poor Things

Visually, Morally, And Romantically Unsettling

• Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
• Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef
• Distributed By: Searchlight Pictures
• Release Date: December 8, 2023

A dark romance that’s also a comedy, Poor Things is a modern, whimsical take on the story of “Frankenstein.” The movie is adapted from the 1992 novel, Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer, by Alasdair Gray, and the book is just as surreal as the movie.

Out of the four Oscars the movie won in 2024, three of them were for technical categories – Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design – with the exception being Emma Stone’s Best Actress award. It’s fantastic to watch, which is part of the charm dark comedy should have, plus it takes on some difficult and even shocking issues when it comes to human relationships, social conventions, and sexuality.

1 Bones and All

Lovers In A Dangerous Time

• Director: Luca Guadagnino
• Starring: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny
• Distributed By: Vision Distribution, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Release Date: November 18, 2022

Bones and All‘s hauntingly beautiful horror romance story explores themes about identity and society while taking its viewers on an unforgettable journey. Its story follows the adventures of Maren and Lee as the young couple tries to figure out who they are and how to have a life in a world that doesn’t seem to accept them.

It’s one of the darkest and most touching love stories in movies about young love and how the events of the past can influence the present and the future. Bones and All‘s terrifying and emotional story follows Maren and Lee’s journey as they embark on a road trip to leave their dark past behind.