Famous men accused of harassment have a lot to say in defense of certain acts that supposedly used to be “romantic” and “charming.” Frankly, many of these behaviors have just been creepy for a very long time. That’s why in my household, my dog and I prefer to watch romantic comedies over actual horror movies during Halloween season, or any time we actually feel like being scared shitless.
Let’s face it—plenty of classic, so-called love stories are creepy as shit. My biggest jump-scare, personally, would be a man standing outside my house on a snowy night with messages written on posters, or continuously being confronted by the same man at four weddings and a funeral. Yikes!
Conversely, plenty of slasher flicks tend to have their own almost perversely romantic qualities, on the surface, at least. Why could Michael Meyer just never get over Laurie Strode??
To that end, the horror and rom-com genres are almost indiscernible from each other when the bare bones of their plots are neutrally laid out, in the absence of names and details and context. In fact, I challenge you to try to guess whether each of the following movies is the plot of a horror movie or romantic comedy—there’s almost nothing scarier than a man, or woman, or anyone, really, in love!
