When it comes to body horror, look no further than the work of Canadian maestro David Cronenberg. Whether it is family troubles as explored in The Brood, or the tragic end of a romantic relationship in his remake of The Fly, Cronenberg always had something to say about the human condition than just graphic sequences featuring the body being pulled apart or merged with something else. In fact, a troubled relationship between two people who are literally being pulled together is at the heart of Michael Shanks’ feature directorial debut, Together.
Together stars real-life couple (and producers) Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie who move to the countryside where she gets a job teaching at an elementary school while he is an aspiring musician who has been feeling distant towards her. While hiking near their new home, the two fall into a cave and find themselves encountering a mysterious force that horrifically causes changes in their bodies.
The first thing to point out about the movie is the obvious horror influences that Shanks is taking from, from the aforementioned Cronenberg to a chilling prologue that is lifted from one of the most iconic sequences from John Carpenter’s The Thing. You can arguably see parallels with last year’s The Substance in how both portray body horror, but whereas Coralie Fargeat’s film has more of a satirical bite, Together plays the horror fairly straight with the occasional slice of humor dropping in.
The film is at its best when it leans towards the slices of humor, anchored by its two central leads, both of whom have a strong comedic background. With the combination of Shanks’ character-based writing and the undeniable chemistry between Brie and Franco, Together’s central theme is co-dependency explored through a compelling snapshot of a couple who clearly love each other, but problems have been building up, causing friction between them, personally or professionally.
If you’re well-versed in horror – or even seen the promos for this movie – you have a pretty good idea about the narrative is going, including its climax which may have the best needle drop in 2025. That said, Shanks deliver some thrilling set-pieces that make good use of the body horror and the two leads’ chemistry, where the situation could start out as romantic, only to slowly morph into something grotesque. It certainly gets points for having one of the most uncomfortable sex scenes ever committed to film.
