Ever since gothic literature became a major movement in the canon of literature as a whole, it has provided fodder for theater and the cinema to take the concepts to new visual heights. With the classic stories of Dracula and Frankenstein ushering in a Hollywood onslaught of gothic romance-tinged films, the medium has continued to explore both these stories and original ones centering around gothic atmosphere/architecture and romance, more often than not, a doomed romance, at that.
Though "gothic romance" films can be trite and melodramatic, they can also provide a darker look into love in the shadows. These great gothic romance films are now streaming, just in time for Valentine's Day.
Underworld (2003) - Amazon Prime
By no means a critically lauded film, the first installment in the guilty-pleasure Underworld franchise is a fun and visceral romp through some matinee cornball goodness. Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a leather-clad vampire who hunts "lycans" (an abbreviation of werewolf or lycanthrope), who ends up falling in love with a human-turned-werewolf, played by Scott Speedman.
An absolutely ridiculous and campy mixture of The Matrix and Romeo and Juliet with a healthy dose of MTV-type editing, Underworld is a "cool-looking" piece of movie candy.
Crimson Peak (2015) - Cinemax
Guillermo Del Toro's take on both the Wuthering Heights-gothic-melodrama of yore and the Hammer Horror films of the 70s was met with fairly warm critical reception on its release in 2015, but Crimson Peak is somewhat of a point of contention among film fans.
The lush and well-rendered visuals of the film simply leap from the screen and the central romance between Tom Hiddleston's mysterious suitor and Mia Wasikowska's object of his affection is a perfect recreation of the dangerous romances of the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Charlotte Brontë.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) - Starz
Indie filmmaking master Jim Jarmusch made this darkly comedic spin on the tropes of the "gothic romance" to massive critical acclaim in 2013. Once again, the endearingly pale Tom Hiddleston takes the male lead as a vampire musician who falls into a state of disdain for the world.
His wife and fellow vampire, played by the amazing and equally pale Tilda Swinton, returns to be with her husband. A strange, funny, and singular vision of immortal love, the effects of time, and the destruction of humanity, Only Lovers Left Alive is a modern gothic classic.
The Handmaiden (2016) - Amazon Prime
Legendary South Korean auteur Chan-Wook Park of Oldboy and Lady Vengeance fame took a slower and more mood-focused turn with The Handmaiden, an excellent cocktail of erotism and tightly-wound thriller that takes loose inspiration from a Victorian-era-set gothic novel from 2002.
Park's film relocates the film to South Korea in the 1930s and recontextualizes many of the novel's gothic tropes while still adding his own style along the way. A tense, sexy, smart, and atmospheric piece of work (with a phenomenal twist at the end) from a living master of the craft, The Handmaiden is a must-see.
Jane Eyre (2011) - HBO Max
Before breaking out with his superb direction of the first season of True Detective, Cary Joji Fukunaga crafted one of the best out of the seemingly infinite adaptions of Charlotte Brontë's gothic classic - perhaps the gothic romance novel. The story of Jane Eyre follows the titular character, a shy governess who begins an affair with her mysterious boss.
The film is gorgeous to behold and it's a love story that has secrets and mysteries almost like a crime novel and an overall sense of melancholy, all of which create a fine film and a marvelous gothic romance that manages to justify why another version of the story needed to be made.
The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) - Amazon Prime
One of the first great silent horror films that has managed to stand the test of time, the 1925 production of The Phantom of the Opera, starring the great Lon Chaney in his most iconic role, is one of the early cornerstones of the gothic horror film genre.
Chaney's terrifying performance is impressive for its ability to still incite fear, but also for the nuance and sadness the actor was able to convey without dialogue and behind a wall of makeup. The set design is immaculate and the tragic and doomed unrequited love at the film's emotional core makes it an essential piece.
Let The Right One In (2008) - Hulu
Though an American remake was made a few years later, and a critically acclaimed one at that, it is the original Swedish adaption of the 2002 novel that achieved worldwide fame and a bevy of critical adoration.
A bleak and blood-drenched blend of coming-of-age drama and violent revenge fantasy, the central plot follows a young boy who begins a bizarre early-love affair with a young girl who happens to be a vampire. Another entry in the dreaded "young adult vampire romance" subgenre, Let the Right One In is a brilliant subversion of the gothic romance cliches.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996) - Disney+
Even though The Hunchback of Notre Dame did not see the big financial payout of other "Disney Rennaissance" movies, it still managed to carve its own little niche in the studio's canon as a darker, decidedly more gothic in tone and animation, piece of family entertainment.
A brilliant distillation of Victor Hugo's seminal gothic novel, the film follows the love triangle between a deformed bellringer, a beautiful Roma woman, and a soldier, as they navigate the Parisian political strife of the late 15th century. A grand, gothic spectacle of music and irreplaceable images of the Paris skyline, the film is a criminally underrated Disney installment.
Dracula (1931) - TCM Watch
There have been many, many, many versions of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, one of the cornerstone properties of all gothic fiction, but it is the 1931 Universal Studios production that remains the most iconic in pop culture.
Bela Legosi's role as the titular bloodsucking count is the perfect embodiment of the gothic romance protagonist--a figure caught between darkness and love, light and violence. Unfortunately, the actor was forever typecast, though he has become synonymous now with the character in the 90 years since the film's release. Beautiful, scary, heartbreaking, a little silly, and timeless in the best ways, Dracula is undoubtedly a jewel of the genre.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Amazon Prime
There's no question that when most film fans think of "gothic directors," the first name that comes to mind is Tim Burton. More often than not, romance comes into play within the moody and icy worlds Burton creates.
One of his most successful projects, and darkest, is his 1999 version of the classic "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Burton-regular Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane, a detective sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a string of beheadings. Christina Ricci, in a great performance, plays his strong-willed love interest. Sleepy Hollow is a brilliant visual feast of gothic delights.