20 Scary Horror Movies About Getting Married

There’s nothing quite like true love and having the certainty that you’ve found the person you’re fated to spend the rest of your life with. So many spend their entire lives dreaming of how their wedding will play out—the colors, the floral arrangements, the first dance with their love, the gown, the vows. Of course, one never knows what may go wrong on the big day.

Bad weather, cold feet, last-minute jitters, a wardrobe malfunction, the wrong cake delivery, arguing bridesmaids—there is no shortage of things that can possibly ruin what was supposed to be a perfect wedding. In horror, there are far more sinister and deadly occurrences that can destroy what should have been one’s most joyful day—and what was supposed to end in blissful, holy matrimony. Ready or Not (2019) redefines nightmare in-laws, The Invitation (2022) gives a gothic glimpse into forced marriage, and [REC 3]: Genesis (2012) sees wedding guests transform into demonic zombies. 

The list below features 20 horror movies about brides and/or nightmare weddings. From pre-code horror classics, to grooms with sinister intentions, to diabolical brides, to wedding curses, to vampires, to slashers about serial killers, to demonic possession—RSVP to these horror movies about weddings and brides. 

Freaks (1932)

This vintage drama horror about a group of sideshow performers in a traveling carnival was controversial and received with revulsion upon its release. A beautiful trapeze artist devises a scheme to marry a wealthy little person only to kill him, inherit his new fortune, and run off with her lover. His community of so-called “freaks” make sure the evil bride ends up getting her due karma.

The film was a critical and box office failure, namely because of its unflinching portrayal of disabled people. It was banned in the UK for 30 years, and labeled as “brutal and grotesque” in Canada. After coming out of obscurity, the movie has received redemption. Film Quarterly called it a “minor masterpiece” in 1964. Freaks is now widely considered among director Tod Browning’s best works. The now cult classic remains divisive to this day. Most claim that it’s compassionate towards its subjects, painting them as individuals with the same desires, strengths, weaknesses, and humanity as any other characters in any other film. Still, there are others who disagree. 

It’s one of the few films where we can see our disabled ancestors before they were excised from the movies.

Carrie Sandhal, Associate Professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

This queer-coded horror classic picks up right where Frankenstein (1931) left off. The villagers are gathered around the burning windmill, cheering on the apparent death of The Monster (Boris Karloff), but he has survived the fire, and so has Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive). After being nursed back to health, Dr. Frankenstein teams up with his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), to create a bride for The Monster—and this how the most iconic bride in horror was brought to life. Upon seeing her to-be husband, The Bride (Elsa Lanchester) screams in horror and denies him. What was supposed to be their wedding ends in tragedy and destruction. Bride of Frankenstein is an emotionally charged story, exuding both terror and poignancy. The film is a must-watch for fans of the genre, especially for those who love a good dose of anti-heternormative subtext on their screens. 

Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)

This Italian Giallo film directed by Mario Bava doesn’t get as much recognition as some of his other works, such as Blood and Black Lace (1964) and Black Sunday (1960). The picture may not be his best, but this stylish film is nevertheless entertaining and deserves the attention of horror fans. Bava infused the movie with a heavy atmosphere, chilling imagery, and color. The macabre story delves into the twisted psyche of John Harrington (Stephen Forsythe), a disturbed designer and bridal shop owner who murders young brides-to-be and bridal models with the use of a hatchet in an effort to unlock a repressed traumatic event from childhood. After falling in love with Helen (Dagmar Lassander), a new model working at his salon, he murders his wife, who he despises.

The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)

The Blood Spattered Bride is a must-watch exploration of oppression under patriarchy, gender roles, sexuality, the fragility of the male ego, sexual repression, the rejection of fascism, and the desire of liberation that disguises itself as a lesbian vampire film. This Spanish film was written and directed by Vicente Aranda, who took inspiration from Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 novel Carmilla, although in this film the vampire is more of a fierce protector of women. The picture opens with a beautiful bride, Susan (Maribel Martín) still wearing her white gown and riding shotgun with her new husband (Simón Andreu) behind the wheel. After fleeing a hotel and arriving at the husband’s isolated family estate, Susan can’t shake the feeling a woman is stalking her. She’s plagued by violent dreams that involve a woman who turns out to be Mircala Karstein (Alexandra Bastedo), the wife of one of her husband’s ancestors, who murdered her own husband on their wedding night. The vampire is the savior in this one, as she frees the sexually repressed Susan from her depraved sex pest of a husband. Buckle up for a bloody spree!

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Bride of Chucky, the fourth installment in the beloved franchise, established Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) as a horror bride icon in the ranks of the Bride of Frankenstein. There’s so much more to this murderous killer doll than what’s on the surface—she’s a soft-girl coded hopeless romantic who ultimately winds up saving the day in this story. She does, however, like any horror movie villain, leave a reign of terror and blood on her way to redemption. This chapter follows Chucky (Brad Dourif) and Tiffany as they try to follow through with a plan of inhabiting the bodies of a young and newly married couple. The serial killer proposes to Tiffany in a sequence full of bloodshed and violence. This twisted take on love is one of the most fun additions to this list of horror movies featuring brides and weddings. 

Sukob (2006)

Sukob, also known as The Wedding Curse, is a Filipino supernatural horror and was the highest-grossing film in its country until another movie surpassed it in 2009. The film takes inspiration from the Filipino superstition sukob, which dictates that a person shouldn’t get married within the year of a relative’s death. The story follows a couple, both overseas workers in Dubai, as they prepare for their wedding—Sandy (Kris Aquino) and Dale (Wendell Ramos). When they return to their home in the Philippines to get married, a curse follows the young couple. The bride starts seeing glimpses of a ghostly flower girl and strange events begin to plague the newly married spouses and those around them. Sukob expertly blends terror and melodrama, and surprises its audience with twists and turns. This movie, which is also filled with jumpscares, should be on the list of any horror fan.

[REC 3]: Genesis (2012)

The events in this Spanish found footage horror film take place at the same time as the events of the first film in this franchise. [REC 3]: Genesis is a gruesome film about a wedding reception that descends into mayhem and carnage when the guests become infected by a virus that turns them into flesh-eating demonic “zombies”. There’s plenty of action, horror, and blood in this movie, including a bride who fights off her infected friends and family with chainsaw, but the film also depicts a genuine love between the bride and groom. The protagonists in this film are a prime example of devotion in holy matrimony.

Demon (2015)

This Polish horror film takes its inspiration from the Jewish legend of the dybbuk, the disembodied spirit of a dead person who possesses the living and controls their body until it gets what it wants. The story revolves around a Polish-English man who returns to Poland to get married to his prospective bride, who he only knows through the internet. He moves into her family’s old family home. Shortly before the wedding, he digs up a skeleton while doing a little work around the property. At their wedding reception, he begins having hallucinations and visions of a woman in a bridal gown—the woman whose remains he just dug up and who soon possesses him. The family tries to distract the wedding guests while ushering Peter down to the cellar where a doctor and priest try to figure out what’s happening to him. This gorgeously shot picture reminds us that the past is never really that far, and that when you marry into a family you’re also tying yourself to their sins. 

Ready or Not (2019)

Iconic scream queen Samara Weaving stars in this movie that showcases the horrors of relationships. In this story, the bride marries into a family from hell, full of nightmare in-laws. She makes the realization too late, after saying “I do” to a husband who turns out to be a spineless, selfish heaping pile of garbage. The film opens with a picturesque wedding in the groom’s family estate, but soon things take a sour turn when the family gathers for a game-playing tradition. Every new member of the Le Domas family must draw a game card on the day of their wedding. Unbeknownst to Grace (Weaving), there’s a possibility that she will draw a card that sentences her to death. At best, she’ll draw one that calls for playing a board game. If she’s unlucky, she’ll be ritualistically sacrificed to the devil in a sadistic game of hide-and-seek. Our bride happens to be the unluckiest in this round. Oh, but does she triumph in the end in one of the most unforgettable, bloody scenes in horror cinema. 

The Invitation (2022)

The Invitation did not deserve as much hate as it received with its low ratings. The story was loosely inspired by Dracula. GOT’s Nathalie Emmanuel stars as Evie Alexander, a young woman who has lost her mother and has no other known relatives. She takes a DNA test and winds up discovering and meeting a long-lost cousin who invites her to a wedding in the English countryside to meet the rest of the family. There, she gets swept off her feet by the seductive aristocratic host, and she begins to uncover secrets behind her dark family history. Little does Evie know that the wedding she’ll be attending is that of her own. Her newfound family wants to marry Evie against her will for sinister intentions. 

More horror movies about brides and weddings…

The Devil’s Wedding Night (1973) an Italian gothic horror about two rival brothers who travel to Transylvania in search of an ancient relic, only to discover the castle they’re visiting is inhabited by a centuries-old vampire countess who seeks a groom for her wicked plans on the Night of the Virgin Moon.

He Knows You’re Alone (1980) a slasher that focuses on a reluctant bride-to-be who is being stalked by a serial killer who murders soon-to-be brides (and those closest to them). She soon turns to an ex-boyfriend for help. 

Beetlejuice (1988) tragedy strikes married couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) early on when they die. The Deetz family moves into their beloved home and starts making it their own. Teenage daughter Lydia (Wynona Ryder) can see them and befriends them. When the ghost of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) enters the picture, things go downhill. Near the film’s climax, he manipulates Lydia into marrying him. The wedding never takes place, but Lydia rocks a red wedding dress that is to die for. 

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) an atmospheric adaptation of the classic novel starring Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman, and Keanu Reeves. The film features a chilling sequence where Dracula declares Mina as his bride after transforming her into a vampire in the hopes of reuniting with his beloved Elisabeta. The movie also includes a wedding scene where Mina hastily marries Jonathan after he escapes the Count’s castle. A real priest performed the ceremony. Ryder told EW, “We actually got married in Dracula. No, I swear to god I think we’re married in real life.”

Corpse Bride (2005) a charming Tim Burton animated film about a young man who unintentionally gets engaged to a dead bride who was murdered after eloping with her love. 

The Innkeepers (2011) a film by Ti West. During the final week at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, before it closes, two employees and amateur paranormal researchers are determined to reveal the hotel’s haunted past and find evidence of the ghost of Madison O’Malley, a bride who died of suicide on her wedding day. 

Crimson Peak (2015) a visually stunning gothic romance by Guillermo del Toro. A young author and heiress meets a charming man and quickly falls in love. They want to be together despite her father’s protests. After her father’s death, they quickly marry and return to his ancestral home in England, a crumbling and haunted mansion. The dark truth of his sinister family is slowly revealed.

The Bride (2017) a dark Russian fairytale of horror. A young bride travels to her fiancé’s ancestral home where their wedding will be hosted, despite his objections to get married there. There she discovers his family’s dark past and the sinister intentions they have in store for her. 

Courtney Gets Possessed (2022) a horror comedy about a bride who becomes possessed by the devil on the night before her wedding. Her wedding party must battle the forces of hell to save her. 

Prey for the Bride (2024) a bachelorette party in Napa goes awry when a man in a wolf mask shows up to force the bridal party to face a long-buried secret. The movie is available on Tubi.

Further reading:

• 31 Gnarly Horror Movies About Pregnancy
• 12+ Horror Movies With The Best Love Story Plotlines
• 16+ Best Dysfunctional Family Movies