How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you donate your organs to them? Would you take a bullet for them? Would you take “together forever” literally, in body and mind, bound eternally by bone and flesh?
As their relationship continues to stagnate with no progression, Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) move out of the city and to the countryside. An elementary school teacher, Millie hopes to get married to Tim, but her boyfriend is too traumatised by the bizarre death of his parents.
Not long afterwards, the couple decide to take a hike in the forest around their new house. As a rainstorm hits the area, they inevitably get lost before falling into an underground cave. Seeking refuge until the downpour is over, they are forced to spend the night and drink the water from a pool inside.
In the following days after climbing out, Tim and then Millie begin experiencing bodily and psychological changes.
It may be too early to claim that last year’s The Substance has kicked off a renaissance for body horror films, but Michael Shanks’s Together is certainly carrying the torch confidently. However, like the 2024 film, it is best to keep expectations in check here.
Together is closer to a dark comedy than the typical horror film with 100 jumpscares. The few disturbing scenes involving Tim’s parents notwithstanding, Shanks keeps the film hiking through the weird body horror trail with a great mix of practical and special effects.
Known for how they built their careers through comedy television series and films, power-couple Franco and Brie are a force of nature in Together. Being married in real-life certainly helped the duo add a layer of depth and believability to the complexity of Tim and Millie’s relationship.
The quality that Together has as a directorial debut is not rare in the indie horror realm but the way Shanks has written his characters with mature and complex ideation is certainly not common. It is more than enough to elevate the film above the genre’s modern mediocrity.