If The Notebook isn’t up to your fancy this year, or maybe you’re fed up with the romance in the air, there’s plenty alternative Valentine’s Day movies.
Valentine’s Day is upon us but it’s not all flowers and expensive heart-shaped candies for everyone. For some people, the celebration is nothing more than a commercialized cliché – an excuse to roll our eyes at the next Nicholas Sparks adaptation even.
If The Notebook isn’t up to your fancy this year, or maybe you’re fed up with the romance in the air, there’s plenty other alternative flicks to stick on come Monday.
Fatal Attraction
Married lawyer, Dan (Michael Douglas), pursues a steamy affair with his colleague, Alex (Glenn Close), but gets more than he bargains for when she begins stalking his family. Fatal Attraction brings the horror directly into the audiences’ own living room, serving as a lesson and a warning in commitment. Close delivers a gut-wrenching performance as the deranged lover scorned that soon coined the term ‘bunny-boiler’ after a horrifically infamous act of revenge.
Killing Ground
A couple’s idyllic camping trip is disturbed when they find a bloody toddler roaming the forest and uncover an unthinkable crime. This sickeningly grim story is told in a non-linear time frame, leaving viewers to put the pieces together. The events that follow are a cruel, twisted and sadistic nightmare scenario. Killing Ground is powerful in its entirety and plays on jaw-dropping violence in a way that’s made all too realistic.
The First Wives Club
Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler join forces as spurned best friends seeking vengeance against their egocentric husbands. The First Wives Club is feel-good 90s at its finest. Sharing an inspiring tale of friendship, the dynamic between the three leads is undeniable as they each take to the spotlight. It’s a comically wholesome tale indeed, leaving a warm fuzzy feeling in its wake with an unforgettable ending.
Watch The First Wives Club here.
Gerald’s Game
When a married couple attempt to spice up their love life, fatality strikes and Jessie (Carla Gugino) is left fighting for survival – and her sanity. Mike Flanagan’s psychological horror is not for the faint hearted; the lengths Jessie is willing to go for freedom are deeply unsettling but desperation sets in fast. Time is ticking, vicious wildlife circle their prey, and something disturbing lurks in the shadows. Gerald’s Game begs the question: is that romantic getaway really worth it?
Heartbreakers
Con artists, Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Max (Sigourney Weaver), take mother/daughter bonding to a whole new level while seducing their way through wealthy bachelors. It’s a light-hearted, slapstick caper full of laughs and energetic performances, especially from hilarious scene-stealer Ray Liotta. The fun doesn’t just stop with comedy; Heartbreakers has something for everyone including a sweet romantic subplot that blossoms in the middle act.
Backcountry
Inspired by true events, Backcountry tells the traumatic tale of a young couple terrorized by an aggressive, man-eating black bear in the back country of Missinaibi Lake, Ontario. The atmosphere is incredibly tense from the beginning; the aesthetic is stunning but manages to capture the isolating tone well. Though the most part of the film is spent anticipating the dreaded attack, it is still far more graphic and brutal than expected. Maybe tick camping off the list for a while after watching this one.
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Muriel’s Wedding
Twenty-two-year-old ABBA-loving, slacker Muriel (Toni Collette) longs to be wooed and sets out on an adventure to find herself a husband. Releasing in 1994, the Australian drama-comedy marks a cultural shift in how women are perceived on-screen. Muriel’s Wedding is utterly charming with its genuine portrayal of female friendships, self-acceptance, societal segregation and overcoming the inevitable hardships of life.
Cruel Intentions
Conniving step-siblings, Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), make a promiscuous wager to seduce new girl in town and high school virgin, Annette (Reese Witherspoon). The story may not have aged particularly well but Cruel Intentions sinks its hooks right in and chews up any youthful optimism viewers have. While set up as the villain, Gellar gives an eye-opening monologue on the harsh double standards between men and women – and it’s still as relevant today!
NEXT: 10 Valentine’s Day Movies To Spend Quality Time With
Jenna is a Film and Visual Culture graduate and freelance entertainment writer from Scotland. Her passion lies with TV and horror, where she will take any opportunity to geek out. Jenna spends her free time binging shows and looking to be spooked.