Horror's Closest Couples
By on Jul 6, 2012
As if it’s not fear-inducing enough to “meet the parents” for the first time, the couple in this week’s Chiller TV premiere, Behind Your Eyes, also has to deal with secrets, kidnapping, and general craziness. Talk about a relaxing weekend! The idyllic couple, however, gave us a good excuse to run down some of horror’s best and most interesting couples of all time. Head on over to our Facebook page to let us know your favorite horror couple.
THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991) – Daddy & Mommy Robeson
Oh, those absolutely batshit crazy Robesons! As if it’s not enough to have Daddy Robeson running around in his favorite S&M getup and torturing their daughter Alice, they also have one really mean (and huge) dog. Easily one of Wes Craven’s most underrated films, The People Under the Stairs is even more scattershot nuts today than it was back in 1991. I love it!
CORPSE BRIDE (2005) – Victor Van Dort & Victoria Everglot
Adorable. Do you remember when Tim Burton used to make interesting, thought-provoking, fun films? I do! 2005’s Corpse Bride bring together the enchanting stop-motion-animated couple of Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), while also throwing in a moving and delightful little performance by Helena Bonham Carter as Emily the “bride.” It’s a shame that the only movie Burton has made since Corpse Bride that’s any good is the one he made right after it – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
POLTERGEIST (1982) – Steven & Diane Freeling
I know I write about Poltergeist an awful lot, but I can’t help it. The film is a nearly perfect example of 1980’s mainstream horror done right. And that even includes the fantastic couple at the center of everything happening in Cuesta Verde. Steven and Diane Freeling (played brilliantly by Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) are the kind of parents awesome enough to read books about Reagan and blaze up while their daughter is downstairs getting sucked into the TV. It’s a little like what we imagine went on inside the Jon and Kate Plus 8 house.
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) – The Monster & The Bride
This one’s a tricky one, as it’s one of the least successful couples on the list. You see, everyone assumed that The Frankenstein Monster just wanted a mate. They thought he needed someone to love. Oh, how they couldn’t possibly have been any more wrong. The Bride awakens, takes one look at The Monster, and screams in complete rejection. Then The Monster decides to tear down everything they’ve built with everyone inside of it, basically killing them all, and creating one of the most downbeat love stories of all time. How’s that for love!
LET ME IN (2010) – Owen & Abby
It doesn’t matter if you love Matt Reeves’ 2010 Let Me In or the 2008 original Let the Right One In more; they’re both spectacular films with a beautiful (and twisted) love story at their core. The relationship between young Owen and ageless Abby, however, just rang a slight bit more true to me than the original. I mean, as true as a budding romance between a barely pubescent boy and his strange shoeless neighbor could be, anyway. It probably has a little something to do with the amazing performances by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz, but we cold watch these two sit in the snow with their Rubik’s Cube all day.
