Does anyone ever really like Valentine's Day? If you're single, it’s a day when no one spontaneously buys you drugstore chocolates, and you seriously contemplate adopting a dog. If you're in a relationship, you suddenly find yourself thrust into the Love Olympics: buying one of those jumbo cards that would swallow up a child, trying to bribe your way into an overpriced restaurant, or hoping your significant other wasn't lying when they said you can totally skip the holiday this year (better buy that pink stuffed bear just in case!) Valentine's Day is a recipe for the blues no matter what your relationship status is, so why not get all your pent-up rage at St. Valentine out with a good old-fashioned Anti-Valentine's Day movie?
The streaming platforms have a wealth of movies about relationships gone bad, singles living it up, and cinematic reminders not to trust every handsome stranger who comes knocking on your door. Love is weird, complicated, and sometimes deadly - both in real life and on the big screen. So whether you are single AF and plan on hunkering down for the evening with a glass of wine that will save you from feeling like you’re the homely sister in a Jane Austen novel, or a happily married couple who want to celebrate by peacing out on the whole sordid affair, here are the best Anti-Valentine’s Day movies to watch!
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best Valentine's Day movies on Netflix, best rom-coms on Netflix, and best movies across all genres on the platform.
It Follows (2014)
Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Genre: Horror Thriller | Director: David Robert Mitchell
Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe
Need a good reason to be thankful you're not in the dating game? It Follows is a sleeper hit about a sexually transmitted haunting that will do the trick. With an original premise and clever writing, this is a top-tier horror film that combines supernatural fears with the psychological. Grounded by a stellar performance by new scream queen Maika Monroe, give this one a watch if you're looking for more spooks and fewer snuggles today.
The Beguiled (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 34 min | Genre: Thriller | Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell
Based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan, The Beguiled is a psychological thriller with a tense Southern Gothic aesthetic directed by Sofia Coppola. Taking place during the Civil War, The Beguiled follows an all-girl boarding school in the South, where an injured union soldier, played by Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), seeks refuge. Starring Nicole Kidman (Bombshell) as the school headmistress, Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) as a teacher, and Elle Fanning (The Great) as a pupil, The Beguiled is a saucy melodramatic story infused with sexuality and distinct visual appeal. – Yael Tygiel
Someone Great (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Genre: Romance Comedy | Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Cast: Gina Rodriguez, LaKeith Stanfield, Brittany Snow, Michelle Buteau
From writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge), Someone Great follows the devastatingly heartbroken Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) as her friends attempt to cheer her up with an extra special night in hopes of easing her through a recent breakup. Co-starring Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise, and Michelle Buteau, Someone Great is a refreshingly messy look at loss and moving on. Someone Great provides a unique perspective on the everlasting strength of true friends expressed through raunchy comedy, a sprinkle of sentimentality, and richly layered characters who share an undeniable chemistry. With a sharp script and witty dialogue, Someone Great is a stylish celebration of friendship. – Yael Tygiel
Do Revenge (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min | Genre: Teen Black Comedy | Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Cast: Camila Mendes, Maya Hawke, Austin Abrams, Sophie Turner, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) star in Do Revenge, a brutally clever dark comedy from director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Do Revenge is a pastel dream as it follows a couple of teenage misfits, Drea (Mendes) and Eleanor (Hawke), as they team up to take down each other’s bullies. Expressed through a deliberate color palette, the calculated premise co-written by Robinson and Celeste Ballard is witty, fresh, and pays homage to cinematic masterpieces. Do Revenge is a modern-day blend of classics from the 80s, like Heathers, and late 90s, like Cruel Intentions. – Yael Tygiel
Tallulah (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 51 min | Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Sian Heder
Cast: Elliot Page, Allison Janney, Tammy Blanchard
A Netflix original about ditching bad boyfriends and building a family in the most unexpected of places, Tallulah puts platonic love front and center in a hilarious and heartfelt way. The standout performances from Allison Janney and Elliot Page make them worthy Valentine companions for your evening of Netflix and chilling on your own.
Frances Ha (2012)
Run Time: 1 hr 26 min | Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner
Frances (Greta Gerwig) is wild, free, and refreshingly single. Love interests come and go in this sparkling tale of a modern New York woman, but in Frances Ha, self-realization proves to be the ultimate goal. If you're looking for the less depressing Baumbach option on the list, you're going to want to tune in.
August: Osage County (2013)
Run Time: 2 hr 1 min | Genre: Tragicomedy | Director: Tracy Letts
Cast: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor
Settle in for a film about a family of fierce women unafraid to fight their way to the top of the family tree after the death of their patriarch. The verbal battles in August: Osage County are like snippets of a lost Tennessee Williams play, drawing you deep into the story of a brutal familial battle where romance is the farthest thing from the character's minds.
Chloe (2009)
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min | Genre: Thriller Drama | Director: Atom Egoyan
Cast: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Max Theriot
They haven't made a lot of old-fashioned erotic thrillers in the 21st century, so it's always a treat when one pops up -- especially when it stars a cast as good as this one. Julianne Moore stars as Catherine Stewart, a woman who recruits a clever, commanding high-priced call girl named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce her husband David (Liam Neeson) and test his fidelity after she suspects him of adultery. Chloe spins erotic tales of temptation and betrayal into Catherine's eager ear, and before long the pair are entangled in a web of shifting emotional power dynamics and sexual attraction. Chloe is often more cerebral and neurotic than lusty, but it definitely has its steamy moments and Atom Egoyan has an eye for seductive detail amidst the winding tale of obsession. -- Haleigh Foutch
Wine Country (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 43 min | Genre: Comedy | Director: Amy Poehler
Cast: Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, and Jason Schwartzman
If you’re looking for a breezy, easy watch, check out Wine Country. While Amy Poehler’s directorial debut may not be the most thematically satisfying or airtight comedy, it’s a solid effort packed with sufficient laughs and a solid dose of heart. The film is inspired by a real-life trip the cast members and real-life friends took to celebrate Dratch’s 50th birthday, during which their friendship was laid bare. The actors play only slightly exaggerated versions of themselves, so part of the fun is seeing what the dynamic between these SNL alums is really like. This is a really easy watch, especially if you’re looking for something to enjoy with friends (and wine) on a Friday or Saturday night in. – Adam Chitwood
Marriage Story (2019)
Run Time: 2 hr 16 min | Genre: Romance Drama | Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern
Fair warning: Marriage Story will wreck you. But it’s also not just one of the best films of 2019, it’s the best film Noah Baumbach has ever made. The story chronicles the process of divorce from separation to finalization, with Adam Driver playing the successful theater director husband and Scarlett Johansson playing the successful actress wife. Complicating matters is the fact that the couple shares a child, but the brilliance of Baumbach’s film is that it tells the story from both points of view, so no matter which side you fall on in the end, you have deep empathy for both individuals. Driver and Johansson give career-best performances as Baumbach writes full-bodied, complex individuals—you know, like actual human beings. And with regards to the subject matter, Baumbach vividly showcases how the voices of the two individuals—and the love they previously shared—get lost in the actual process of divorcing. Heartbreaking and deeply human, Marriage Story is not to be missed. – Adam Chitwood
The Tinder Swindler (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 54 min | Genre: Documentary | Director: Felicity Morris
We've all seen guys on Tinder that are maybe a little too good to be true. Pictures of a jet-setting lifestyle, expensive watches and suits, a perfectly manicured life. But for some, it's about the potential to find their ideal man and where some might swipe left, others will eagerly swipe right to give it a chance. Such is the beginning of Simon Leviev's con. Luring in women and love-bombing them with gifts, extravagant trips, and declarations of love, it's not long before a woman is falling in love with the charismatic Simon and soon sending money to him when he suddenly become injured by an attack from his "enemies". Where The Tinder Swindler succeeds is showing just how easily a man can con women and control them, manipulating them into sending hundreds of thousands in cash to him on some lie. Using his victims to fuel his expensive lifestyle, Simon is a dangerous predator, and one that continues to operate today much to the chagrin of this critic. The Tinder Swindler is a constant reminder that conmen will do anything to completing their con and trust is not something that should easily be won in the world of online dating. — Therese Lacson
Scre4m (2011)
Run Time: 1 hr 51 min | Genre: Horror | Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin
The fourth chapter in the Scream franchise, Scre4m, takes place 10 years after the first Ghostface Killer massacre. Reprising their roles from the original trilogy are Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, reunited with the creator of this cleverly crafted mythology, director Wes Craven, to wrap up the Woodsboro story. With the same formula as the previous three films, Scre4m introduces a slew of new characters played by the most popular stars of the time, including Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Lucy Hale. A frightful addition to the series, Scre4m completes Craven’s vision for these films. – Yael Tygiel
Cam (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 35 min | Genre: Horror | Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Cast: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Samantha Robinson, Melora Walters, Imani Hakim
A tense thriller about ambition, identity, and survival in the internet age, Cam stars Madeline Brewer stars as Alice, a successful cam girl intent on climbing to the top of the ranks — an ambition that’s going rather well until she logs on one day to find she’s been replaced by a cheerful doppelganger who’s taken her face and her career. From there, Cam follows Alice down a surreal rabbit hole as she tries to discover who’s behind her new web clone and how to reclaim her life, building a growing sense of unease and sick helplessness as Alice’s reality drops out from under her. Screenwriter Isa Mazzei and director Daniel Goldhaber are a dynamite creative team, who bring a refreshing sex-positive, non-exploitative approach to the often untouched subject matter while staging a dazzling and disorienting plummet through the pitfalls of internet identity and the intensity of ambitious careerism. — Haleigh Foutch
She’s Funny That Way (2014)
Run Time: 1 hr 34 min | Genre: Screwball Comedy | Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Cast: Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte
She’s Funny That Way feels reminiscent of old-fashioned screwball comedies in the best possible way. The film centers around Arnold Albertson (Owen Wilson), a Broadway director whose life gets complicated when his wife Delta (Kathryn Hahn), his wife’s former lover Seth (Rhys Ifans), and a callgirl Arnold hired named Izzy (Imogen Poots) are all cast in his newest play. Throughout the film, the dynamics only get more complicated as secrets are revealed and new relationships are formed. Hilarious, offbeat, and bold, She’s Funny That Way is cleverly written, expertly directed, and masterfully acted. – Taylor Gates
Berlin Syndrome (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 56 min | Genre: Psychological Horror Thriller | Director: Cate Shortland
Cast: Theresa Palmer, Max Riemelt
Before she brought Black Widow’s story to the screen in her long-overdue solo film, Cate Shortland directed the criminally underrated thriller Berlin Syndrome. When Australian backpacker Clare (Theresa Palmer) meets a cute, nice guy while on holiday in Berlin, she spends the day with him. Things are great at first – he shows her around the city on her last day, they sleep together, and she spends the night at his place. At first, their relationship has the makings of a sweet, harmless, vacation fling until Andi (Max Riemelt) locks her in his apartment when he goes to work the next day and won’t let her leave when he returns home. From this moment on, Berlin Syndrome builds tension slowly and deliberately. Every interaction between the pair feels critical, as though Andi could snap at any moment and kill her. You can’t help but wonder how much time Clare has left, and if she’ll ever escape Andi’s apartment alive. – Brynna Arens
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 56 min | Genre: Neo-Noir Psychological Thriller | Director: Tom Ford
Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen
Writer/director Tom Ford gained immense acclaim for his first feature A Single Man, but his second film flew pretty heavily under the radar despite being a gorgeous, taut thriller all its own. Nocturnal Animals is a twisty thriller that follows an art gallery owner (Amy Adams) as she reads the new novel written by her first husband (Jake Gyllenhaal). As she reads the novel, the events of the book play out on the screen and you begin to connect the dots between this supposedly fictional story and the gallery owner’s real-life – and the reason her marriage fractured in the first place. It's haunting and surprising in equal measure, leading to an incredibly ambitious ending that should spark some lively discussion. — Adam Chitwood