The 20 best paranormal romance films

Cat People is one of the more remarkable horror films to have emerged from the 1940s, and it shows the deft directorial touch of Jacques Tourneur. At the heart of the film is a sort of love triangle between Irena (a woman who believes she is descended from a tribe of shape-shifters), her husband, Oliver Reed, and Alice, the young woman with whom Oliver seems to fall in love. Suspenseful and tightly woven, the film has the rich thematic complexity one associates with the very best of horror. As always in the genre, death and desire go hand in hand, with tragic consequences.

Whitney Houston might have been best known for her phenomenal voice, but she also proved remarkably talented in a number of film roles. Who could forget, for example, her starring role in The Preacher’s Wife, in which she co-starred with the similarly great Denzel Washington? She plays Julia, the titular character whose husband is visited by Washington’s Dudley, an angel. There’s undeniable and dazzling chemistry between Washington and Houston. Though the characters don’t end up together as a couple, the film nevertheless leaves the viewer almost wanting them to do so. Aside from the romantic tension in the film, there’s also the undeniable pleasure of seeing Houston sing.

Throughout his career, Andy Samberg has repeatedly shown himself as one of his generation’s most talented comedic actors. He is perfectly cast in Palm Springs, where he plays one of a pair of people trapped in an inexplicable time loop, like so many ill-fated film characters. Samberg is evenly matched with co-star Cristin Milioti, who plays Sarah, the other person trapped in the time loop. The film adeptly balances its comedic and dramatic elements, and there are even a few plot twists designed to keep the viewer on their toes. The film’s lean running time and smart script show that there is still a lot of magic in the traditional romantic comedy formula.

Emilia Clarke rose to fame as Daenerys Targaryen in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, but with the supernatural Christmas romance Last Christmas, she demonstrated that she was also very skilled at portraying a romantic lead. In the film, she portrays Kate Andrich, who finds herself falling in love with Henry Golding’s Tom Webster. As it turns out, he is actually the ghost of the man whose heart she received in a transplant. It’s a slightly macabre twist, but there’s something sweet about their romance, and it is no less affecting for also being predictable. 

Casper the Friendly Ghost has long been a staple of animation, but in the 1990s, the Friendly Ghost finally got the big-screen treatment. It’s certainly a grimmer take on the character, particularly in how it develops his backstory. However, it gives him a bit of a romance, thanks to the presence of Christina Ricci’s Kat Harvey. There’s a unique sort of sweetness to this film that is very much a hallmark of many similar ‘90s movies.

Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire  allowed the author to become a horror icon when it was published in 1976. It wasn’t until 1994, however, that it finally got the big-screen treatment, with Tom Cruise in the role of the vainglorious and domineering vampire Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis, the tragic and melancholy mortal whom he turns into one of his kind. Even though the film version tones down some of the novel’s more explicit homoeroticism, it’s still clear that Lestat and Louis are a couple, particularly once they turn the young girl Claudia (played by Kirsten Dunst) into their own vampire child. It’s an adaptation that keeps all the sumptuousness and eroticism of the novel while still being very much a movie of its moment. 

Even though Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula  has been adapted to film many times, few have had quite the power of Francis Ford Coppola’s version, which skillfully combines the traditions of Gothic romance with horror. Gary Oldman gives one of the best performances of his career as Dracula, formerly Vlad the Impaler, who becomes an immortal being after his beloved takes their own life. Even though the film often leans into its horror elements, it is a paranormal romance, as Dracula remains motivated by a desire to reunite with his lost love, whom he believes has been reincarnated as Mina Harker. The film is a testament to the enduring power of the Dracula story.

Few vampire films have been as visually striking as The Hunger.  Catherine Deneuve stars as Miriam Blaylock, a vampire who turns away from her erstwhile companion (played by David Bowie) to pursue a young human doctor (played by Susan Sarandon). The film crackles with fierce sexual energy, particularly once Miriam begins her courtship in earnest. Though it goes off the rails a bit in the final scenes, there’s still more than enough potent romance to satisfy most fans of the genre. It has also become a cult favorite of many LGBTQ+ audiences, proving its enduring power. 

Edward Scissorhands is a fortunate meeting of director and actor, as Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were clearly made to work together. Depp gives a rich and soulful performance as the title character, a human-like creature with scissors for hands who falls in love with Winona Ryder’s Kim Boggs. Though the film clearly owes a great deal to the Frankenstein story, it also shows the classic Tim Burton touch, managing to be slightly unsettling yet utterly charming. There’s also undeniable chemistry between Depp and Ryder, and it’s easy to see why the film remains so beloved among millennials. 

The 1990s was a rich decade for paranormal romances of various kinds, and one of the most beautiful and tragic is City of Angels.  At the heart of the story is Nicolas Cage’s Seth, an angel who becomes mortal to be with Meg Ryan’s Dr. Maggie Rice. It hits all of the notes one would expect of a paranormal romance of the 1990s. Cage and Ryan are perfectly cast. Even though the ending is bittersweet, the film still reminds the viewer of the remarkable power of being human and the aching joy of love.

The story of Benjamin Button is one of acclaimed novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald’s lesser-known tales, but it makes for a very strong film in the hands of talented director David Fincher. Brad Pitt is at his best as the title character, a man who ages backward. Cate Blanchett, likewise, is her usual superb self as Daisy Fuller, the woman with whom he falls in love. At once beautifully told and achingly tragic, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a film that explores the depths of human emotion and experience, taking what could be a simple on-screen gimmick and turning it into something only Hollywood could produce. 

Groundhog Day remains one of the best films starring Bill Murray, who stars as Phil Connors, who gets ensnared in a time loop and has to live the same day repeatedly. Of course, the thing that saves him from this purgatorial existence is, essentially, being a better person. This manages to break the cycle and earns him the love of Andie MacDowell’s Rita Hanson. The two fortunately share a lovely happy-ever-after, and it’s the film’s unique blend of morality and romantic tension, as well as the chemistry between the two leads, which helps to explain its enduring popularity.

Based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel of the same name, Twilight  quickly established itself as one of the most successful vampire films of the 2000s. The film’s heart is the fraught romance between human Bella Swan (a star-making role for Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (a similarly career-making role for Robert Pattinson). Beneath all of the supernatural trappings, including a love triangle with werewolf Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner, there beats the heart of a true romance. While the film may not always be able to move away from the limits of its source material, there’s also something refreshing about its unapologetic debt to teenage romance. 

If there were one star in the 1980s and early 1990s who embodied the figure of the heartthrob, it would be Patrick Swayze. He exuded effortless charm and sex appeal and became one of the industry’s most beloved leading men. In Ghost,  he plays a man who is murdered and comes back as a ghost, all in an effort to rescue his girlfriend. It’s a touching and very entertaining film, particularly since it features some great performances from Swayze, Demi Moore (who plays his girlfriend), and Whoopi Goldberg (who plays the medium who aids him in his posthumous quest). The film expresses the desire most people have that somehow love can transcend death. 

If there’s one director working today who seems to have an intrinsic understanding of the gothic romance, it would be Guillermo del Toro. Throughout his career, he has shown a unique understanding of the genre, its aesthetic, and its ethos. In Crimson Peak,  he again allows his unique vision to take center stage. This delightful gothic story has everything one might wish for: incestuous liaisons, a dark and crumbling mansion, and ghosts. It features a trio of spectacularly talented performers, including Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska. It’s the type of film that knows the conventions of the genre and uses them to maximum effect. 

The 1990s was a rather extraordinary decade for film, and Hollywood proved willing to take some risks with storytelling. One of the more unusual films of the decade was Meet Joe Black, which stars Brad Pitt as Death, who ends up taking a human form and falling in love with a human woman, who falls in love with him in return. It’s a strange film, to be sure, but it’s quite touching in places and engages with some serious and heavy questions, particularly about the nature of human life and love and mortality. 

Andrew Haigh is at his directorial best in All of Us Strangers,  a beautiful and heartbreaking drama starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell. Andrew Scott portrays Adam, a middle-aged gay man living in a lonely apartment building who begins a romance with Paul Mescal’s Harry, even as he also has the chance to make peace with his deceased parents, whose spirits he encounters at his childhood home. Dreamlike, haunting, and heartbreakingly tragic, the film explores weighty issues related to grief, love, trauma, and the necessity of human connection, particularly with those who have passed on.

Guillermo del Toro has always had a keen eye for the weird and the strange, and he brings that to bear in The Shape of Water. Sally Hawkins is her usual charming self as Elisa Esposito, a janitor whose love for an amphibian-like creature (very similar to the one from Creature from the Black Lagoon) causes all sorts of trouble for herself and the US government. In less capable hands than del Toro’s, the film would come dangerously close to parody, but the director knows how to thread the needle between the macabre and the romantic, and the results are nothing short of spectacular. 

Even though zombies are often a source of horror and terror in the pop culture imagination, Warm Bodies takes a unique approach to this most ubiquitous horror figure. Part zombie movie, part Shakespeare, and part romance, Warm Bodies is essentially Romeo and Juliet  with zombies. The romance between Teresa Palmer’s human Julie and Nicholas Hoult’s zombie R is surprisingly touching, particularly since their love helps to turn the latter back into a human. Though combining Shakespeare with zombies might not seem like the best mix, the film’s light touch and the undeniable talent, charm, and chemistry of the leads ensure that it is enjoyable from beginning to end.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of the canonical paranormal romances, focusing on the love that springs up between Gene Tierney’s Lucy Muir and Rex Harrison’s Captain Daniel Gregg, who died in the house known as Gull Cottage and has haunted it ever since. There is undeniable chemistry between Muir and Gregg, and both Tierney and Harrison are at the top of their game. While the story might seem strange on paper, it works in the film due to the intelligence of the script and the story’s genuine human warmth. It also helps that it was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, one of the most gifted directors of his generation.