Lovers dominate the horror genre. However, those who are in love usually find themselves on the pointy end of the knife. Not this time!
It appears for some, killing keeps them together. Here is a list of some of horror’s most demonic duos, doing what they love best!
Paddy and Ciara in Speak No Evil
There is a 14 year difference between James McAvoy and his co-star Aisling Franciosi in 2024’s Speak No Evil. The lovers they portray, Paddy and Ciara, appear to be very in love and extremely sexually connected with each other.
Furthermore, the movie caters to their age gap as their relationship is built upon. It later becomes known the two have been married for seventeen years. Viewers raise an eyebrow as they try to do some quick math in their head.
The audience then gets a cringe of a lifetime when the math adds up and the twist is finally revealed. Paddy abducted and groomed Ciara from a young age. She was taken by Paddy when she was roughly the same age as the protagonists’ daughter, Agnes, who is 11 years old.
While the couple killed many people in their past, their connection is apparently attributed more to Stockholm syndrome rather than love.
Chucky and Tiffany in the Child’s Play franchise
Charles Lee Ray and Tiffany Valentine are perhaps horror’s most infamous killer couple. Their love for killing transcends their love for each other, and even life as they continue their reign of terror as immortalized dolls.
The lovers connection was established long before Chucky’s soul was trapped inside a doll’s body. The two have been in a relationship since the 1980’s. Tiffany was not only aware of her boyfriend’s murderous ways, but she assisted him as well.
The two are just as twistedly diabolical together as they are separate. Their body count is hard to calculate since even Tiffany was revealed to have killed on her own.
Chucky and Tiff are quite the pair, and are the genre’s very own Bonnie and Clyde!
Billy and Stu in Scream
Billy Loomis and Stu Macher are Scream’s original duo killers. Portrayed by Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard, the two have gained quite the fanbase. In fact, it was amongst the fans where rumblings began of the two characters having been romantically involved with each other.
Writer Kevin Williamson did not explicitly say in the script that the two are gay. There weren’t any kisses exchanged or hand holding going on. However, when watching through this lens you observe the signs of jealousy and intensity between the two. The psychosexual bond they shared is strong! Furthermore, Williamson explained the two characters were inspired by real life murderers and lovers, Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb.
Lillard has confirmed their queer coded relationship in the script. Furthermore, he lovingly nicknamed them the “first husbands of horror” to the approval and support of fans.
Art and Victoria in Terrifier 3
Maybe not exactly lovers, but relationship between Art the Clown and Vicky in the Terrifier franchise is straight from hell.
Vicky was one of Art’s victims in the original movie when he brutally attacked and disfigured her. The terror and trauma she experienced mentally unhinged her from reality. However, it is hard to separate when Victoria fully loses her autonomy and control over her own body and decision making.
It is believed by actress Samantha Scaffidi that any bit of the character she portrayed is gone by Terrifier 3. When she kills herself in the bathtub by cutting her wrists, that is her last action of free will to release herself from the hell Art did to her. Afterwards, when Vicky and Art awake five years later, it is no longer Victoria Heyes. Now a demon fully inhabits the prior victim’s body, using her as a conduit. The demon known as “the Pale Little Girl” from Terrifier 2.
So in fact, it is the demon that is Art’s partner in crime. Even a heartless and cold soul from the worst serial killer can’t compare to the inhuman force looking through Vicky’s eyes. However, it is their shared infatuation with sadistic killing that brings these two together.
Pearl and Howard in X
Pearl (Mia Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure) in X by Ti West represent old fashioned love. A love that will do anything for each other.
In 1979 deep south Texas, the elderly couple rented their guesthouse to young adults making a movie. Unbeknownst to owners Pearl and Howard, they are making an adult film on their isolated property.
Pearl’s motivations to kill are triggered by the arrival of the group of young and beautiful 20 somethings. It is also apparent she is sexually frustrated as her advances towards her ailing husband are rejected. Her jealousy of the young visitors sends her into a murderous mind-space, fueled by a yearning for youth, beauty, and sexual desire. Howard assists his wife out of devotion and love, and to protect her from any consequences.
While the slaughter the two commit is gruesome, there is something inherently sweet about the feelings behind the actions. Howard would do anything in his power to satisfy his love, it’s just unfortunate what she wanted was murder. Not exactly the tale as old as time.
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