Like all good genre fans, we spent Valentine’s Week gorging on chocolate, gore, and twisted tales of love and horror.
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At AlethalWeaponArt, movies (particularly horror) are a huge part of our life — and our business — so we take time to celebrate the art of film every day. Follow along with us to see what we watched each week. We will tell you if it’s worth watching or if you should skip it altogether and why.
Editor’s Note:
We may be seduced by the grotesque and macabre as horror fans, but the genre boasts its share of love and romance, even if it often delivers said romance with a sinister or sadistic edge.
Love and horror have always been intrinsically linked, harkening back to the genre’s nineteenth-century gothic roots and the enduring idea of monstrous love.
In fact, there’s often a mighty fine line between horror and romance. Perhaps that’s due to how easy it is for love to veer into horrific territory — whether it be through obsession, betrayal, or despair. You can’t have love without heartbreak (or, at least, the risk of heartbreak), passion without hunger, desire without fear of losing that which you covet.
So often, relationships — like horror — can be about power imbalance. For many, sexual fantasies revolve around control or loss of control, dominance or submission, and even a little pain. We’ve also long romanticized and even fetishized the quintessential monster, as there is something so inherently alluring about the dark and dangerous, the taboo or forbidden, or the ferocity and unpredictability of the wild and untamed.
We crave the villains in the story because they are the ones with the most allure and the ones most willing to sacrifice the world to get what they want. And, when what they want is you, it’s about as intoxicatingly seductive as romance gets.
This horror movie-watching week, we embraced the romantic side of horror — with a dark edge and a killer twist — the union of love and blood.
1. MY BLOODY VALENTINE (2009)
My Bloody Valentine (2009) is such a fun 2000s horror movie! It was also the first R-rated movie projected in RealD 3D, which is pretty neat. We love the cheesy 3D eyeball popping out and the pickaxe coming “out at you.”
In the mining town of Harmony, there was an accident, and the mine collapsed. The rescue team found only Harry Warden alive, in a coma, and the other miners killed with his pickaxe. On Valentine’s Day, Harry woke up from his coma and killed twenty-two people. The only survivors were Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles ), his girlfriend Sarah (Jaime King), their friend Axel Palmer (Kerr Smith), and his girlfriend Irene (Betsy Rue).
Ten years later, Tom returns to town when his dad dies. On Valentine’s Day, murders start again, and chaos ensues. Tom is accused, and we watch the story unfold as they search for the killer.
The murders throughout are gory, fun, and creative! We loved the shovel-to-face decapitation and the head in the dryer.
This movie is everything you want in a slasher whodunnit.
KILL OF THE WEEK: The shovel decapitation in My Bloody Valentine!
2. WHO INVITED THEM (2022)
Who Invited Them is the story of a couple, Adam and Margo (Ryan Hansen and Melissa Tang), throwing a great housewarming party that turns sour. A couple claiming themselves to be their wealthy neighbors, Sasha and Tom (Perry Mattfeld & Timothy Granaderos), cause trouble and give them one hell of a night.
This one has ominous vibes throughout and is shot well. There is something familiar feeling about the characters/actors that makes this one more relatable. Adam and Margo feel like a couple you’ve met before.
This feels like an invasion thriller mixed with a dark comedy. You kind of hate both of the couples in this at first, but we came to appreciate the havoc they were causing as it was the only cause of excitement in the film.
The ending isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible, either, and at least they tried for something a little outside of the box.
Who Invited Them is a little slower, but we enjoyed it and recommend it if you’re looking for something a little more twisted than your average drama thriller.
3. THE LOVE WITCH (2016)
The Love Witch is one that will take you back to Grindhouse films and early 70s vibes.
This tale follows a mesmerizingly beautiful witch, Elaine (Samantha Robinson), who uses her magic to cast spells on men with deadly consequences. Elaine is stunning and entrances many men in her quest to find the one for her. The makeup and costumes are on point in every shot, and she looks incredible.
The whole thing feels like a velvety fever dream.
Although there is some nudity, it is not very graphic but sensual throughout. This one is perfect for a Netflix and chill date.
It’s worth watching if you enjoy Grindhouse films, but it’s more of a spooky drama than anything violent or gory.
4. THE LOVED ONES (2009)
OUR FAVORITE OF THE WEEK!The Loved Ones is a brutal gem and perfect if you’re in the mood for a twisted love story.
One of our all-time favorites, this Australian horror flick packs a punch. It follows a young girl who takes matters into her own hands after being turned down for a school dance. A young boy is dragged into this household of craziness and must escape. The unhinged young woman Lola truly takes enjoyment in inflicting harm onto her new captive and even her own mother.
This character feels truly sick and beyond help; it is so much fun to watch. Robin McLeavy does such an incredible job playing this absolute lunatic that you end up kind of respecting her as a great female villain.
The Loved Ones is unique, dark, twisted, and funny and an absolute must-see for horror fans.
5. FOLLOW HER (2022)
Follow Her turned out to be more than we expected, and we enjoyed it overall.
Jess (Dani Barker) secretly films interactions she has with people she meets from online job listings to fuel her social media success. She’s hired by Tom (Luke Cook) to write the ending of a movie script in a remote, fancy converted barn. Once there, Tom hands her a script with the two of them as the main characters.
This thriller takes a turn when our main character realizes he may have sinister intentions.
Sensual thriller vibes are present throughout; although we found Tom to be repulsive, he has good chemistry with Jess. He is very aggressive, one of the many red flags throughout the movie that Jess never seems to pick up on. This one comments on social media and influencers but not really in any profound way.
It was a fun watch and great if you’re looking for a raunchy social media thriller with a few twists.
6. INTO THE DARK: MY VALENTINE (2020)
My Valentine is the story of a pop star wannabe who is having her songs and style stolen by her ex-boyfriend/manager and his new client/girlfriend. Locked together in a small venue after hours, they all connect, and it escalates to violence.
The script is pretty ridiculous, the music is absolutely atrocious throughout, and the acting lacks substance.
This movie also has zero likable characters.
All that being said, we somehow ended up laughing and enjoying ourselves, but there is nothing that stands out to make this worth watching.
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