Valentine's Day is coming up. Whether you're spending it alone or with company, a simple truth is that you can always count on streaming services to be there for you.
While spending the day eating chocolates and watching movies is among the better ways to celebrate the day, so is streaming. But which streaming service offers the best flicks for your Valentine's mood? Let's try to figure that out.
Which Streaming Service Offers the Best in Romance?
If you go to Amazon and type romance in the search bar, ensuring to tick the Prime Video box, you get 40,000 results of both shows and movies that fit the bill. However, that doesn't mean that Amazon Prime Video offers all 40,000 titles for free with your monthly subscription.
Unfortunately, a large chunk of what the service offers don't come for free, but is available to view if you pay a price to rent or buy it. With this, you have to be ready to spend a little a more for some of the content.
On the other hand, the Romance category on Hulu is split into several sub-categories—Romance TV and Movies, Popular, Rom-Coms, Dramas, and LGBTQ+. If that doesn't help you narrow it down, you also get an A-Z category that lists everything alphabetically.
Netflix offers over 600 movies under the Romance category. Netflix also divides them into similarly convenient categories, which you can browse. For example, there's a Popular and Trending section, Emotional Dramas, 20-th Century Period Pieces, and so on.
HBO Max also offers a ton of categories under Romance, but where it gets a leg up is with its Historical Romance section. HBO Max not only has slightly older features like Pride and Prejudice (1995), but also Casablanca, Great Expectations, and other timeless classics.
Lastly, if you're in the mood for animated romance, there's no better platform than Disney+. Disney+ has many romantic classics like all the Disney princess movies (both live-action and animated), Enchanted, The Princess Diaries, and many more.
It's hard to crown a winner in the romance category since the crown switches between services depending on what you feel like watching.
If you want animation, then Disney+ is best. For old-time classics, go to HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video. But, be aware that the ones on Prime Video might cost you extra. However, if you only care about seeing a romance with a happy ending, you'll likely find a good one on any streaming platform.
What About Streaming Services and Romantic Drama?
Sometimes, you'd rather avoid the cheesy rom-com with its meet-cutes and happy endings and spend Valentine's Day enjoying some real drama. As mentioned above, many of the Romance categories on the various platforms already come with a drama subsection you can browse through until you find something that interests you.
Amazon Prime Video has 10,000 titles under Romantic Drama. Starting with Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, to Anna Karenina and Me Before You. If you're into Young Adult content, Amazon Prime also has The Fault in Our Stars, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and A Walk to Remember.
Unfortunately, all the titles listed above will cost you a little extra to view. If you're keen to watch a paid Amazon Prime movie or series, you can choose between renting, which is cheaper in the short term, or buying, which means you can re-watch it on other days.
Amazon Prime Video certainly has the most extensive media library out of all the streaming services. However, it can also rack up quite the price at the end of the month when you add up all the titles that cost you extra to view.
Besides the expected categories under Romantic Dramas, Netflix offers ones that list LGBTQ Directors, Films Based on Books, and Tearjerkers, allowing you to narrow down your searches to your exact preference.
Lastly, Hulu offers a few good choices in its Romantic Dramas section, like Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Titanic. However, other than that, it's somewhat lacking in the drama department. There are only a handful of options, and some don't quite fit the category. For example, Pride & Prejudice from 2005 is hardly a tearjerker with its happy ending and mostly positive storyline.
Which Streaming Service Offers the Best Choices in Horror?
If you're done with romance, maybe a little horror is what you need on Valentine's Day. It's the perfect thing to get your mind away from the lovey-dovey theme of the day, so why not see some gore?
All the well-established platforms offer a Horror section with scary movies galore. However, you should know that there are quite a few horror-centric streaming services that only cater to the frightful genre.
Shudder ranks high in offering a great selection of horror. Its library is well-rounded as it has psychological thrillers, slasher and supernatural flicks, and pretty much everything that can scare you. It starts at $4.75 per month and even has a 7-day free trial, so it's worth checking out.
Screambox is in the same realm as Shudder, catering to horror buffs. The service starts at $4.99 per month and offers a wide variety of features.
There are countless categories to help you find the exact flick you're in the mood for, including Backwater Butchers, Found Footage, Ghosts And Spirits, Humorous Horror, Monster Mayhem, and the best one, Just Plain Weird.
If you want to stick to what you know, you can turn to one of the streaming services you're already subscribed to. But if you're willing to try out a new one, why not start a free trial at Shudder or give Screambox a month to impress you?
Plan a Streaming Date on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day doesn't always mean flowers, chocolates, and expensive outings. It can also mean spending a chill day watching movies that fit your mood. Whether that's seeing features that remind you love is real, ones that break your heart, or ones that terrify you, it's entirely up to you.
Whatever you feel like watching, it's safe to say that Shudder is best for horror, Disney+ takes the crown for the best PG13 romance, and for everything else you might be in the mood for, you can probably find something on whichever service you're already subscribed to.
If you feel adventurous, you can invite your friends to a virtual Valentine's Day and have a Watch Party together. Whatever your choice, browse away and spend a chill, no-pressure day.