By Sarah Stubbs

Romance isn’t the first thing you might consider when you think about cannibalism in horror media. However, there is more of a crossover than you might imagine in films and books. Most seem to end tragically (some spoilers ahead), but there are a few that don’t. 

Cannibalism is often used as a metaphor for other things when combined with romance: lust, addiction, over-consumption (which is in direct opposition to cannibalism films like Motel Hell), and even obsession. In essence, too much of anything can be bad, so why not illustrate it with something taboo? As a fan of cannibalism media, I’ve long (half) joked that it feels unfair that characters don’t often get to merrily skip their way to a “happy ever after” in cannibalistic bliss. When I think of my favorite uses of it to tell these stories, I understand why the relationships are tragic and/or unfulfilling. Much like gorging yourself on too much of anything, at the moment, things seem great, but by the end, you’re either bored, sick, or some combination of both. 

April Consalo (Ash in Cannibal Mukbang) really expressed this well when Aimee Kuge (the film’s director) and she were guests on Final Girls Feast. I asked if her character deserved a happy sunset moment. To that she responded, “Well, it’s hard, right? Because I think she deserves to be happy, obviously, but, you know, the thematic thing of cannibalism is kind of like excess, right? Or like overindulgence or too much desire, usually, right? You want this person so much, you want to just eat, literally eat them. And so, it’s usually used as kind of like a warning, right? Against that sort of full-on over-consumption of another person into your life.” She followed with, “within the toxic love story of Mark and Ash, that was a theme that Aimee and I talked about a lot, of this all-consuming, they’re all you think about, obsessive sort of love. Like, is that love or is that something else?”

A lot of the media listed below really falls into this sort of storytelling. The list is by no means comprehensive; instead, it’s media that comes to the forefront of my mind when considering cannibalism and romance. 

• Bloom– Delilah S. Dawson’s book is a sapphic romance that starts out at a farmer’s market, complete with a cupcake stand. However, it doesn’t end so sweetly for Ro. What is so shocking about this book is that the ending is much darker than you’d expect.  
• Bones and All– Out of the titles on this list, Bones and All is perhaps the most devastating in my opinion. Even more so, when you consider the film is based on a YA book. Both the book and film follow Maren and Lee, both of whom are compulsive “eaters” (the in-world term for cannibals). They are pursued by Sully, another eater, and in the aftermath of the final showdown, Maren consumes Lee. The reasons and lead-up are different in both iterations (one is less intentional), but it is absolutely heartbreaking in both cases. 
• Cannibal Mukbang– In Cannibal Mukbang, Mark falls for influencer Ash, who turns out to be a cannibal who kills men who assault women they meet online. While Mark tries to participate, he falls short when he defends his brother, who has tried to assault Ash (and others), resulting in Mark’s death. The more I watch this film, the less sad I am about his death and the more upset I get at the defense of his brother. 
• Fresh– Fresh starts with one of the best cold opens in horror. The fact that there is no physical release of Mimi Cave’s debut feature film is a travesty. The less you know, the better, but I will say, even if the person looks like Sebastian Stan, maybe think twice about a produce section meet-cute. 
• Parents– This is probably a surprising addition because Parents doesn’t really read as especially romantic. Over the course of the film, we learn that Lily converted to cannibalism for her husband, Nick. However, despite their seemingly good relationship, she dies at Nick’s hand while protecting her son Michael, who isn’t keen to become like his parents. There is more than meets the eye with this film, and if you’ll forgive the pun, a lot to digest. 
• Trouble Every Day– It’s hard to describe Trouble Every Day in a simple synopsis because there is so much going on in it. It’s definitely a hard watch (Vincent Gallo’s real-life behavior doesn’t make it any easier), but I really recommend that if you’re doing a dive into this topic, you give it a watch. 

In contrast to the more tragic endings above, there are a few happier endings that come to mind. The first is kind of an odd one, which is the book version of Hannibal. In it, Lecter and Starling actually end up together, albeit getting there is a bit cringey by today’s standards. A better example is a recent discovery (for me anyway), My Cannibal Crush. This film is an independent film directed by Billie Elizabeth. It handles cannibalism as a sort of addiction. In doing so, the characters all interact with it in ways similar to how characters might interact around a different addiction that is less taboo.

I asked Billie why they went the route they did in terms of the ending, and they explained, “if I look at Bones and All, I think the nature of the ending has more in common with something like In the Mood for Love than something like Cannibal Holocaust. The heartbreak drives the sadness more than the horror. Bones and All is a tragic romance. When I started writing My Cannibal Crush, I set out to make a romcom. Yes, it has people eating people, but from a structural standpoint, I see it as a romcom first and foremost. It’s got a meet-cute. It follows a sort of an enemies-to-lovers arc (although they’re only really “enemies” for one scene). It has characters who fight to win each other’s love back. If you remove the horror elements, I think it’s actually a pretty formulaic romcom. But more importantly, on a thematic level, the movie is kinda odd in the sense that it’s a fun, silly, lighthearted B-movie, but by the halfway point, it sort of becomes a drama exploring ideas like guilt and addiction. I wanted to leave anyone who might relate to those ideas with a sense of hope.”

I hope that ending with a couple of entries that were more upbeat inspires you to give cannibal romance a shot. There is so much going on in all of these movies that I recommend giving them all a chance. Just be sure to have tissues ready because for some, you’ll need them. 

---