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Rom-Horror: The dark and twisted love child Hollywood’s been yearning for

Rom-coms are dead. And in its place to love us next? Rom-horror! The freakishly romantic hybrid of love and terror that cinema's been craving for.

BY KISAVI JAY|PUBLISHED: SEP 29, 2025

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Rom-Horror: Why this love child just might be exactly what cinema needs

Thrilling, tempting, and freakishly romantic movies to add to your must-watch list.

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All hope for the rom-com revival might finally be gone. It may be time you bid farewell to the glistening eyes and long stares, the dramatic airport chases, and the love confessions in the pouring rain. This era, as we know and adore it to be, is officially dead. RIP.

But don’t let your heart mourn too long; there seems to be a new lover in town. Rom-Horror, the haunting, twisted, and dreadfully passionate love child of horror and romance, has risen to take its place. Why and how did we even get here?

This subgenre doesn’t shy away from delving into the dark and more complex sides of love, offering audiences intense emotions – rage, longing, and obsession – as well as authenticity and vulnerability. And in a world where ghosting and nonchalance define dating, rom-horror gives you all your heart thirsts for. Coupled with the intimacy shared through fear and danger, it becomes the most romantic type of media.

With the rom-coms losing their spark – as seen with the dissatisfaction with Anyone But You (2024) and Materialists (2025), horror has risen from the underworld to take its place. We’ve now been offered a more deliciously dark take on love, dating, and marriage – surviving together, bloody chases in the rain, sacrificial deaths, and romance that literally goes beyond the grave (“Till death do us part”, who?).

Plus the double dosage of fear and love? They make a killer combo of emotional intensity, tension, and adrenaline, raising the stakes for the characters.

These films don’t just use the good ol’ will-they-won’t-they trope to tug at ya’ heartstrings. Nope. They’ll have you at the edge of ya’ seats, with the is-he-the-killer twist (trust issues core). Cuz finding out the one you relied on for comfort and safety was the killer all along? That’s not just the sound of your heart breaking, but the shrill shrieks of pure terror.

So, think you’re up for that thrill and terror? Are ya’ ready to have your heart racing? Cuz we’ve got a blood-tastic list of swoon-worthy couples for you to ship and maybe even fear for. These films will be sure to have you crying, squealing, and cuddling up next to ya’ boo (wink).

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Cosmo’s Rom-Horror List

Heart Eyes (2025)

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A couple trying to survive a masked killer on Valentine’s Day, all while flirting and falling in love? Sign us up! Heart Eyes is a love letter to the 80s and 90s slashers. The ones you grew up with, unless of course you’re part of Gen Z (Gen Z here, still binged them!). Bloody, with a high kill count, it’s got all that rom-com flair you adore sprinkled in.

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Companion (2025)

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Three couples meet at a remote, luxe cabin for a romantic weekend away, but things take a chilling turn when it’s revealed that our female lead isn’t human. The whole “befriending AI” thing really comes into play here. Wanting to love, designed and programmed to do so, only to end up a killing machine at your boyfriend’s will? Oh, how tragically human.

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Together (2025)

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Real-life lovers, Allison Brie and Dave Franco, play codependent Tim and Millie. A couple in a ten-year relationship facing a rut, heads to a cabin in the woods. What could possibly go wrong with this classic horror trope? Let’s just say they seem to take wanting to be Together too far and way too literally.

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Your Monster (2024)

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For the girls who never leave their apartments and believe love will come knocking. Yes, it will! But it might just be the handsomely hairy monster knocking from inside the closet. And for Laura, our girl-next-door dealing with heartbreak, it’s exactly that! It’s giving modern-day Beauty and the Beast.

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Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

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A film for the Sirius girls and dark academia lit-girls, we present you Gary Oldman as the gothic heartthrob – Count Dracula. It ain’t just butterflies and soft kisses, it’s temptation, hunger, and desire in its darkest form. We’re talking teeth biting into ya’ skin and blood dripping down ya’ neck. Because there’s nothing more romantic than romancing a vampire.

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The Nun (2018)

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Y’all been asking for yearning? Horror’s been delivering! The Nun serves us an underrated romance between Sister Irene and farmer Frenchie. Talk about a forbidden love. Fighting off satanic demons and trying to survive demonic possession, this ship still finds time to feed us with that romcom magic – the stolen glances, the teasing, and chivalrous acts.

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The Strangers (2008)

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Slow burn romances always work well. What works even better? A slow burn horror! A couple in turmoil after a rejected marriage proposal, in a lonely neighbourhood, is being hunted by three masked intruders for the night. That’s love and fear twisted like a knife into a heart-wrenching, terrifying movie. And that one line at the end – “because you were home” – will forever haunt you.

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Bones and All (2022)

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Rat-boy Timothée Chalamet and soft-girl Taylor Russell give us a tender yet twisted romance. Maren and Lee aren’t just “different” in the black sheep sense. They’re cannibals. Young lovers on the run, travelling across America, while trying to navigate their gnawing hunger and growing feelings for each other. It’s so giving Yellowjackets meets Bonnie and Clyde.

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Sleepy Hollow (1999)

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Would this list even be complete without a Tim Burton classic – the mastermind of gothic romance and eerie, whimsical fantasy? With a haunting romance between Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci) and Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) at its heart, this film is a dead lover’s dream. Featuring your 90s crushes and a love triangle (yes, horror has it too), it’s a must-watch for anyone craving a romantic and spooky take on the classic tale of the Headless Horseman.

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The Conjuring Movie Series (2013, 2016, 2021, 2025)

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We’ve saved the best for last! With fate and purpose intertwined in their love story, this couple is legendary. Their romance takes the cake. Ed and Lorraine Warren have carried an entire horror franchise, creating a mark in the genre. From accepting and believing in each other, to praying and exorcising demons together, they’re the definition of goals! And let’s not forget their matching ‘fits and lil’ dance moments. With the final chapter soon to be released, our hearts ache with both dread and sorrow of what’s to come for this love story.

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Hopelessly Romantic, Horribly Doomed

So whether you’re hiding under your blanket, fantasising about a tall stranger in a mask, or snuggled closely to your lover, these movies will have your heart racing. Is it love? Is it terror? You can’t exactly tell. And that’s the beauty of rom-horror.

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Rom-Horror: Why this love child just might be exactly what cinema needs

Cosmo’s Rom-Horror List

Heart Eyes (2025)

Companion (2025)

Together (2025)

Your Monster (2024)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

The Nun (2018)

The Strangers (2008)

Bones and All (2022)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

The Conjuring Movie Series (2013, 2016, 2021, 2025)

Hopelessly Romantic, Horribly Doomed

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Rom-Horror: Why this love child just might be exactly what cinema needs

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maximum pleasure.