It's February and gaudy jewelry, overpriced chocolates and a nebulous little sentiment called romance all permeate the air. And whether you're snuggling up with your main squeeze or defiantly going it alone, the time is right for a movie. But rather than an overripe, cloyingly sentimental dollop of the usual romantic fare, try one of these left-of-center options. Love, desire and pick axes are featured prominently, and they'll have you either clutching your partner tight or patting yourself on the back for flying solo.
The Vanishing (1988)
This Dutch psychological thriller introduces lovers Rex and Saskia, a young couple on a joyful road trip. But when Saskia fails to rejoin Rex after a service station stop, Rex mentally unravels and plunges into desperate obsession. When he begins receiving notes from Saskia's abductor years later, Rex is faced with a life-altering decision. This tense, unnerving drama demonstrates the lengths one can go to when their love is unceremoniously plucked away, and the mystery of not knowing burns deep enough to demand closure at any cost. Harrowing and essential.
Fear (1996)
Known as the "Marky Mark goes psycho!" movie, Fear brings Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon together, then un-cages Wahlberg's toxic, raging possessiveness when they're kept apart. Equal parts corny and legitimately unnerving, Fear is a showcase for how desire and a need for togetherness can plummet into the abyss of stalking and murder faster than you can say "creepy roller coaster scene." It's a siege movie / love tale, full of poisonous longing and violent repercussions, and a wicked guilty pleasure.
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
No twisted love film bit would be complete without this February-set, Canadian slasher. While not a love story per se, My Bloody is set on the most romantic of holidays and depicts the aftermath of the homicidal Harry Warden's return to Valentine Bluff. While technically a color-by-numbers slasher, My Bloody benefits from the tense, claustrophobic setting of the town's mine shafts and the gas mask / pick axe of the killer is almost as iconic as Jason's hockey mask. A no-frills horror romp only coincidentally set on the day of love, My Bloody will encourage either cowering in your partner's shoulder or chuckling derisively, depending on your amorous disposition.
