Updated January 26, 2021 1.6K votes 337 voters30 items
First, it should be noted that we’re not saying you shouldn't watch these films. Many of the movies on this list, though bad movies for a date, are actually some of the best films ever made in cinema history. American Beauty won five Academy Awards, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind may be one of the most original stories you’ll ever see on celluloid, and Gone Girl is a top-notch psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. All we’re saying is that maybe these are not the best films to watch if you’re hoping your date ends with romance. In fact, this list should be used as a reference. These are the absolute worst movies for date night.
Some of the movies on this list are just plain gross and disturbing. The fact that a filmmaker thought to turn tourists into a human centipede for the sake of entertainment is pretty disgusting. Other films on this list are really depressing. We know right from the beginning that the movie that Love Story ends with the young heroine’s death, but that won’t stop the deluge of tears that will erupt during the film’s climax.
Finally, there are the movies about bad marriages and horrific break-ups. Nothing kills romance like witnessing a couple’s bitter end. These films hurt the most because we know that there was a time when the onscreen couple was happy and very much in love. No one on a date wants to see what happens when love turns to hate, and a significant other is willing to do anything to hurt their partner.
So let this list be your guide as to what films to avoid on date night. And don't say we didn't warn you!
A sicko German scientist kidnaps a few tourists so he can turn them into a human centipede by sewing their mouths to each other's rectums. Yes, this movie actually made money, and was popular enough to warrant two additional Human Centipede sequels. However, chances are your date will experience the urge to purge due to the movie's graphic nature, which is not a good preamble for romance on date night.
Actors: Ashley C. Williams, Dieter Laser, Akihiro Kitamura, Ashlynn Yennie, Andreas Leupold
Stanley Kubrick shatters the illusion of freewill in his 1971 masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. The film was so controversial upon its release that it was banned in the UK. The violence in some scenes is so shocking and graphic that it becomes almost impossible not to turn away. Unless your goal is to disturb your date to the point of nausea, you'll probably want to skip this one on date night.
Actors: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, John Clive
Why, oh why couldn't this mismatched couple figure out a way to live happily ever after? The Way We Were proves that sometimes true love just ain't enough to make it for the long haul, and no one wants to think that love can't conquer all on date night.
Actors: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman, Murray Hamilton, Patrick O'Neal
A seemingly perfect marriage takes a turn for the worse in David Fincher's cinematic adaptation Gone Girl. A scorned wife hates her husband so much that she is willing to set up an elaborate ruse that frames him for her murder. The Dunnes are both twisted and disturbed, if you have any hope that you and your date will one day march down the aisle, this film may sour you on marriage for eternity. In fact, in a film littered with damaged people, marriage may be the worst character of all.
If you cheat on your wife, there's always a chance that you could wind up with a mistress like Alex. Boiling a family's pet rabbit is not the worst thing that Alex does in this movie, but it may be the most disturbing. Men be warned, attractions can be fatal, and no one wants to think about infidelity and pyscho behavior on date night.
Actors: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, Stuart Pankin
