As Valentine’s Day approaches, couples are expected to run to theaters to enjoy the newest rom-com. But this year is different.
Oddly, no big rom-coms have been released this February. At least, not ones without a slight twist. Many of these movies are now accompanied by a horror premise.
With films like “Heart Eyes” and “Companion,” both released within two weeks of the holiday of love, it feels like there is no longer a desire to create standard love stories. Especially now that the common tropes used in those types of movies are becoming too familiar.
“I feel like because more cookie-cutter romantic comedies aren’t becoming popular, it’s the weird genres that are giving us the romantic comedy that we want,” Ariana Martinez, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, said. “And the comedy comes from the violence.”
When these slasher movies were originally being tested and created in the ‘80s, there were plenty of details about love and crime mixing.
But over time, themes of romance became crumbs buried within horror films. Martinez noted there was a transition from that initial romance style in the ‘80s to the “final girl” cliché of ‘90s horror. Now, slashers are reverting to their original ‘80s style leaning heavier on the romance.
“It was trying to subvert romance, trying to subvert this idea that the guy is perfect and that sex is bad,” Martinez said.
FilmScene’s Head Projectionist and Facilities Director Ross Meyer also acknowledged there was a slight shift in the tone of these movies.
“I think slasher films are always a very cyclical thing. They’ll kind of fall in and out of fashion,” Meyer said.
When it comes to the original rom-com style, Meyer mentioned how they might not be as desirable for viewers as they were before. With almost the same tropes used throughout these films, it becomes difficult for an audience to want to watch something they feel like they might have seen before.
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“It might just be that that nail’s been pounded all the way flat and that there’s nothing new, at least on the surface level there,” Meyer said.
This also adds to how every romance horror film has something that a rom-com usually will not: a shock factor. Allison Seamans, a fourth-year UI student, brought up the idea that these new slasher romance films are being created more to get a knee-jerk reaction out of audiences.
“I think it has to do with people wanting some sort of visceral reaction to film,” Seamans said.
Both Martinez and Seamans said they see some of these movies as outlets for viewers, especially with many of the recent horror rom-coms being written and directed by women and LGBTQ+ people. Many features of the horror genre allow it to be open to everyone.
“I think horror for a long time was for gay people and women, and now they’re really getting a chance to create those movies themselves,” Martinez said.
Seamans further expanded on this idea by recognizing these movies create a safe space for people to be scared and simply enjoy themselves. Films like “Bones and All” and “Lisa Frankestein” both play into this aspect of being a “weirdo,” which opens up a realm to remind people they can be who they are.
“I think what is most interesting about this rise of horror is this idea of escapism and being able to be scared but also be in a safe space to be scared,” Seamans said. “We like having an outlet to scream and having our heart beat up.”