Taylor Watches Rom-Coms Vol. 12: Horror Edition
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
It's time for another edition of Taylor Watches Rom-Coms. Since it's almost Halloween, here are three (semi) spooky movies for your viewing pleasure!
Fresh (2022)
Frustrated by scrolling dating apps only to end up on lame, tedious dates, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve after a produce-section meet-cute at the grocery store.
If this October you’re looking for a real spooky recommendation, look no further than Fresh. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones (a personal favorite) and Sebastian Stan, this movie is the perfect romantic comedy…until it’s not.
I actually like this movie so much that I don’t want to spoil a single thing for you. Just trust me on this one. It’s genuinely chilling, thrilling, AND romantic, and you get excellent performances from both of them. I’m disappointed at how few people have seen it, but I know Daisy is a particularly big fan of this line on her resume because she’s always posting and resharing things about it. So, if you haven’t seen it, stop reading this and go watch it!
Warm Bodies (2013)
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
Nicholas Hoult girlies stand UP!!!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been a stan since you were a mentally ill middle schooler illegally watching Skins (UK, duh) on a constantly overheating laptop. I would make the “Just me?” joke, but I actually know for a fact that there was a generation of us on Tumblr. Anywho, I’ve become very committed to his career for some reason. I take great pride in saying, “I was there when…” I’ve always thought he was better than people gave him credit for and wondered when he would get his chance to flex his most astute muscles (I’d argue he did that in The Menu, but it could also be in Juror #2 coming out soon!).
Warm Bodies is by no means his tour de force, but it is a good scary movie month romance! Light on the “com” part of rom-com, it doubles down in the at-times very palpable (I’ve been dying to use that zombie pun) chemistry between R and Julie. It’s a simple movie, and it is successful at just being sweet and tender. Zombie movies are maybe my least favorite sub-genre of horror, but Nicholas Hoult can pull everything off, including this!
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Just after a bad breakup, Charlie MacKenzie falls for lovely butcher Harriet Michaels and introduces her to his parents. But, as voracious consumers of sensational tabloids, his parents soon come to suspect that Harriet is actually a notorious serial killer -- "Mrs. X" -- wanted in connection with a string of bizarre honeymoon killings. Thinking his parents foolish, Charlie proposes to Harriet. But while on his honeymoon with her, he begins to fear they were right.
Hot take incoming: I’m not the biggest fan of Mike Myers. There, I said it!
Other than Shrek, his big swings often fly right over my head. Austin Powers, Wayne’s World, Cat in the Hat (okay, I’ve actually never even seen it but… just trust me…), they aren’t my kind of thing. I appreciate Mike’s humor and I can see why people fawn over his greatest hits, but I’ve never gotten the hype.
Until So I Married An Axe Murderer.
I had never heard of this film, and shame on literally everyone in my life for letting me miss out on it all these years! I find it absolutely hysterical (a word I have NEVER used talking about Austin Powers) and it feels like Diet Mike Myers. It’s made me realize that I find his humor really successful when it’s reeled back a bit.
Despite being a spooky month pick, it’s a romantic comedy for almost the entire movie, so don’t think I’m suggesting anything too gory. It’s also a fun mystery, and even a fun twist thrown in there, so I won’t share too much.
This was an absolute blast (especially since I watched it over wine and charcuterie at a local bar) and it’s a movie I see myself returning to again and again.
Ugh. Do I give Austin Powers a chance again???
Credit: Each plot synopsis comes from Letterboxd via TMDb.
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