Is there anything more exciting than an onscreen romance that bleeds into reality? We obsess over our favorite fictional relationships secretly hoping the actors’ chemistry will create lasting sparks in their personal lives. Though not known for uplifting stories of love, the horror genre claims its fair share of cherished couples. While fending off a variety of dangerous threats, some find love amidst the blood and gore, then continue the relationship after final cut.
Michael Shanks’ buzzy rom com horror Together blurs the line between love and fear with a real-life couple steering the ship. Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) are on the verge of separation when a mysterious force literally fuses their bodies. Married offscreen, the co-stars follow a long line of couples whose true romance only adds to the power of their horrific films. While drawing attention to their work, they usually prove a twisted version of the aphorism true: the couple that screams together, stays together.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco in Together
When Brie and Franco first met in 2011, the attraction was immediate. The couple describes a debaucherous weekend in which they were essentially “lip-locked” throughout, ironic considering their latest release. Together features the real-life spouses as a couple struggling to rekindle their spark. When Tim drinks from a mysterious pool, he finds himself drawn inescapably closer to his frightened girlfriend. Only grisly and violent acts can tear their tender bodies apart. The intense film is a harrowing exploration of toxic love with bits of their offscreen marriage bleeding into the script. Franco told The San Francisco Chronicle, “The whole experience has made us analyze our own levels of co-dependency, which are probably pretty high,”
But Together is not the couple’s first foray into horror. A life-long genre fan, Franco directed his wife in the 2020 film The Rental, a tense thriller following two messy couples on a weekend retreat at an AirBnB. In a script also co-written by Franco himself, Michelle (Brie) must defend herself against a shadowy killer while navigating a haze of drugs and infidelity. Though Franco barely appears in the film, this collaboration brought the couple closer together. He credits his wife’s unwavering support with giving him the courage to spearhead the film while Brie raves about her husband’s collaborative demeanor, telling People, “His enthusiasm on set is infectious and it made me fall in love with him all over again.”
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut
When preparing to film Shanks’ disturbing body horror film, Brie and Franco took inspiration from an infamous A-list couple. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star as Bill and Alice Harford in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, a nerve-shattering exploration of trust and deception set against the upper crust of New York society. The film centers around an intimate conversation in which the couple discusses infidelity. Alice reveals a latent fantasy that sends Bill reeling into the midnight streets and eventually to a ritualistic orgy thrown by a dangerous society of the über-elite. It’s a stark exploration of the secrets that breed in unfulfilled relationships.
The film’s icy tone mirrors its troubled production and the fracturing relationship of its marquee stars. Notorious for his grueling attention to detail, Kubrick stretched filming for the secretive project to a record-breaking 46 weeks. Kidman remembers blowing off steam with clandestined trips to an amusement park. Years later, she told The New York Times, “We would go go-kart racing after [intense] scenes. We’d rent out a place and go racing at three in the morning.” In addition to this stressful schedule, Kubrick tragically passed away just six days after turning in his final cut. This would also be the couple’s final collaboration. After 11 years of marriage, they filed for divorce, less than two years after the film’s release. While initially polarizing, Eyes Wide Shut is now considered a masterpiece of unresolved tension and a disturbing exploration of fading love.
Emily Blunt and John Krasinski in A Quiet Place
This next starry couple is not particularly known for horror, but wound up headlining one of the most successful genre films of the last quarter century. Both known for their work in comedy, Krasinski and Blunt met through mutual friends and bonded over respect for each others’ work. Krasinski remembers sheepishly admitting to his future bride that he’d watched her in The Devil Wears Prada close to 75 times. The couple became engaged within a year of this chance meeting and married in 2010. They continued working on mainstream titles before entering the genre world in 2017.
When Scott Beck and Bryan Woods approached Krasinski about starring in A Quiet Place, the jovial actor was surprised to connect with the darker material. Lee (Krasinski) and Evelyn Abbot (Blunt) have built a simple, but sustainable life in a silent post-apocalyptic world. But pregnancy turns their home upside down and the frightened couple must find a way to protect their headstrong children when every noise could lead to certain death. Krasinski agreed to not only star, but direct the film upon Blunt’s suggestion. His wife was initially hesitant to take on the role of Evelyn, but joined the cast after reading Krasinski’s updated script and connecting to its themes of parental fear.
A Quiet Place became a surprise success and the couple would reprise their roles in the 2020 sequel A Quiet Place Part II. Blunt took home a Screen Actors Guild Award for her emotional performance and earned high praise from her adoring spouse. Krasinski remarked to Vanity Fair, “This weird intersection happened while filming where I totally forgot I was her husband. I was just watching her performance and was lucky enough to be in the front row.”
Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton in Stranger Things
While sometimes art imitates life, other times life chases after art. When Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer were cast for the buzzy 80s throwback Stranger Things, co-creator Matt Duffer noticed an instant connection. He would later admit to GQ, “That first audition, we did a chemistry read with [Charlie and] Natalia, and sparks were flying.” Dyer and Heaton play Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, older siblings of the series’ two younger stars. Despite kindness and hesitant flirtation, their onscreen relationship takes time to bloom. In fact, the first season sees Nancy smitten with bad boy Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). But the actors’ chemistry was undeniable and fans quickly shipped the star-crossed teens.
Despite obvious chemistry, the actors were hesitant to broadcast their courtship. Heaton would later remember, “We didn’t really know what the relationship was. The caginess, anyway, might have been unnecessary.” They couple began appearing on each other’s instagram accounts just months after the first season’s 2016 premiere. But they didn’t make their first red carpet appearance until London Fashion Week the following year. Since then the couple has been going strong, weathering their share of ups and downs. They were recently spotted at the New York premiere of Broadway’s Stranger Things: The First Shadow. While anything could happen to Nancy and Jonathan in the show’s eagerly-awaited final chapter, Dyer and Heaton will likely continue to light up the genre world long after the cast of Stranger Things has taken its bow.
Courteney Cox and David Arquette in Scream
If horror has a favorite couple, it’s undoubtedly Scream stalwarts Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Before meeting on the set of the iconic Scream, Cox was sitting at the peak of network TV as the high strung Monica on NBC’s Friends. Born into a prominent Hollywood clan, Arquette and his three siblings were simultaneously making waves on the indie cinema scene. The two charming brunettes were cast to play Woodsboro Deputy Dewey Riley and TV journalist Gale Weathers—adults navigating a dangerous world of violent teens. With her exploitative instincts and unguarded tongue, Gale often feels like a secondary villain, but her endearing and constant flirtation with Dewey serves to soften the non-traditional final girl.
While filming, director Wes Craven suggested Arquette ask Cox on a date. In 2022, the actor remembered, “He gave me a real man-to-man talk and that had an impact on the course of my life.” The two began an offscreen courtship and were married by the 2000 release of the divisive Scream 3. However, the beloved couple filed for divorce twelve years later, shortly after reprising their roles in the highly-anticipated Scream 4. Despite the end of their romantic relationship, the actors remain friends and supportive co-parents of their daughter, a connection that can be felt in each successive film. Whether dating or separated, fighting or aligned, Gale’s and Dewey’s affection for each other can be felt in every scene and has no doubt guided their characters’ journeys. They remain fan favorites in the beloved franchise and one of the genre’s most celebrated couples.
Together is now playing in theaters everywhere. Get tickets now!
