Dark Romance backdrop

Dark Romance movies

Risky, intense romance shaped by danger, obsession, control, trauma, or morally gray choices.

Only Lovers Left Alive

1. Only Lovers Left Alive

Drama Romance Fantasy Dark Romance Supernatural Fantasy
7.2
20132h 3min

Overview

A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, already played over several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

Themes

Immortality and isolation, Art as refuge, Contamination anxiety, Reliance on scarce resources, Fear of exposure, Sibling disruption

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Laurence Anyways

2. Laurence Anyways

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Dark Romance
7.6
20122h 48min

Overview

The story of an impossible love between a woman named Fred and a transgender woman named Laurence who reveals her inner desire to become her true self.

Themes

Social expectations pressure, Family support dynamics, Career disruption during transition, Gender transition challenges, Enduring love vs autonomy, Aging self-definition

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Red Riding Hood

3. Red Riding Hood

Thriller Drama Fantasy Mystery Horror
5.4
20111h 40min

Overview

Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter plan to run away together when Valerie's older sister is killed by a werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect ... and bait.

Themes

Trust across fear and difference, Ancestral curses and lineage, Manipulation by authority, Isolation of a village, Forbidden romance vs duty, Communal fear and secrecy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
HBO Max
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Womb

4. Womb

Romance Science Fiction Dark Romance Bio-Genetic Sci-Fi
6.3
20101h 51min

Overview

A woman's consuming love forces her to bear the clone of her dead beloved. From his infancy to manhood, she faces the unavoidable complexities of her controversial decision.

Themes

Reproductive control, Obsessive love, Cloning ethics, Parent-child ambiguity, Social prejudice against copies, Biotech ethics

Available on

Apple TV
Hoopla
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Burning Plain

5. The Burning Plain

Drama Romance Crime Relationship Drama Dark Romance
6.7
20081h 51min

Overview

A trailer is burning in the middle of a plain. The bodies of two adulterous lovers are found. Scenes from both families, before and after the dramatic events, suggest an unusual connection between them. But what is their secret?

Themes

Language barrier, Forbidden romance, Identity reinvention, Intergenerational consequences, Abandonment and longing, Familial deception

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Loft

6. Loft

Drama Mystery Romance Whodunit Relationship Drama
7.2
20081h 58min

Overview

Five close friends, all of them married, share a loft to meet their mistresses. One day they find the body of a young woman in the loft. Since there are only five keys to the loft, the five men begin to suspect each other of murder.

Themes

Moral ambiguity, Group loyalty under pressure, Marital double life, Shared spaces secrets, Trust under suspicion, Secret affairs risk

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lust, Caution

7. Lust, Caution

Action Drama Romance Thriller Spy Action
7.5
20072h 38min

Overview

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce and assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai.

Themes

Power dynamics and coercion, Deception and betrayal, Loyalty vs duty, Love under occupation, Sexual politics under war, Clandestine resistance operations

Available on

Apple TV
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Loving Annabelle

8. Loving Annabelle

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Dark Romance
6.2
20071h 17min

Overview

Annabelle is the wise-beyond-her-years newcomer to an exclusive Catholic girls school. Having been expelled from her first two schools she's bound to stir some trouble. Sparks fly though when sexual chemistry appears between her and the Head of her dorm and English teacher, Simone Bradley. Annabelle pursues her relentlessly and until the end the older woman manages to avoid the law.

Themes

Secrecy and exposure, Institutional conformity pressure, Romance within authority, Religious code vs desire, Teacher student power dynamics, Lgbt relationship stigma

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Notes on a Scandal

9. Notes on a Scandal

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Dark Romance
7.4
20061h 32min

Overview

A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.

Themes

Manipulation and control, Extramarital affair, Power dynamics in relationships, Stalker dynamics, Loneliness and companionship, Public exposure consequences

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Little Children

10. Little Children

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Dark Romance
7.5
20062h 17min

Overview

The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.

Themes

Suburban dissatisfaction, Extramarital temptation, Feminism and domestic life, Social stigma and prejudice, Parenting and secrecy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.