Valentine's Day Movies Have Become Anti-Valentine

By Tiffany Xinran Wang

When I saw “Heart Eyes”, a horror movie about killing couples on Valentine’s, was my best bet for a romantic date on February 14, I thought, “Really??”

Really. Anti-romance movies had dominated the screen during the past two Valentine’s Days. Couples killer, zombie castrator – you name it.

“How to Be Single” in 2016 is a lighthearted comedy that lands on an optimistic note of self-love: you can feel good about yourself without a boyfriend!

“What Men Want” in 2019 gives a Black woman the ability to hear men’s inner thoughts, which helps her to flip the table at a male-dominated workplace. With all the power she has, the protagonist decides to not destroy the men but to build on herself.

And in between those is “But Deliver Us from Evil” in 2018, a supernatural indie thriller where an attractive female demon unleashes her vengeance against men. It’s so niche that it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.

Next, the pandemic hit and there weren’t many movies for a while.

Then, bitterness toward men and disappointment toward traditional relationships were no longer niche. Reproductive issues, situationship and diversifying sexuality came to the forefront.

“Scramble” in 2024 discusses egg freezing and all the emotional and social turmoil experienced by thousands of women behind the phenomenon.

From the same year, “Sex-Positive”, echoing the movement by the same name, visualizes sexual liberation – very idiosyncratic, extremely R-rated.

Another whimsical film from that year is “Lisa Frankenstein”. Lisa dates a zombie man who chops off the penis of her unreciprocated crush, so he can use this newly obtained organ to have sex with her.

It’s a warning to all the men who are incapable of fostering genuine love: only break a girl’s heart if you have the balls for it.