There is something undeniably strange in what happens to people in a committed relationship. It is easy for a form of co-dependence to arise, and it is disturbing to find that your self-feeling becomes so mutable. For those of us who watch two people become a couple, it may feel like looking at a kind of transformation; The person you know begins to dress and act differently, and in some extreme cases, can even start thinking differently. Although even the healthiest long -term relationship implies a version of the co -depence, it is more likely that this will happen so gradually and imperceptibly than no one noticed. However, what happens if this dependence should be outsourced? What if, for example, the desire and the need you should be with your person was not only emotional, but physical?
It is essentially the premise of “Together”, a new body horror comedy of the writer and director for the first time Michael Shanks. Thank you in large part to success (not to mention the appointments of the Oscar Prize) for “The Substance” from last year, Body Horror has a mainstream, and that is probably part of the reason why Neon decided to acquire the film during the Sundance Film Festival this week for distribution in August this year. This does not mean that “together” does not succeed in his own merits. Far from it, because the film is loaded with sets which deliver, largely thanks to the committed work of Dave Franco and Alison Brie. Although “Together” may be a little by heart and has the impression of holding us back for us Gorehound Sicko Horror Freaks, he undoubtedly offers a general audience, which means that it is a very great horror film Passerelle for uninitiated.
Together, the sets are underway in the center
From the first moments, “Together” sets a high bar by tribute some all-time body horror films. During a search in the woods of a small town in New York in the north of the state for a couple of missing hikers, the dogs of a man fall on the ruins of an old church that collapsed in The ground, with a strange watering hole in its center which seems very recalling a location in “Annihilation” by Alex Garland. After the two dogs have a glass of mysterious water, the man brought them home, disturbed for why they now seem to be set intensely. Soon, something happens to the dogs reminiscent of the first moments of John Carpenter’s “The Thing”, and it is clear before human characters start to expose that something in this water can be merged in a physically uncontrollable way.
We are then presented to our protagonist couple: a successful teacher, Millie (Alison Brie) and her thirty years, Beau, Tim (Dave Franco). The two seem inseparable to their friends, but everything is not well in camera, because Tim feels more and more trapped in their relationship while Millie feels much more like a substitute mother. The two have not made love for a long time, a problem only exacerbates by the still recent death of Tim’s parents (lightnings which we see in a very “seam”, with these most nightmarish images in the whole film). After an embarrassing embarrassing marriage, Tim and Millie move into a house in this small town in the opening of the opening. Millie takes a new job in a local school, attracting the attention of a lonely older teacher and neighbor, Jamie (Damon Herriman), while Tim insists on trying to rekindle her agitated musical career while traveling in the two way in New York. One day, the couple tries to rekindle their spark by hiking in the neighboring woods, only to accidentally tripping in these ruins during a storm. While the two are forced to wait for the storm overnight, Tim lacks water, which makes him use this liquid pool nearby.
From there, we leave for the races, and the Shanks do not waste time to cause Ickiness. That said, the film spends time with Tim or Millie aware of what’s going on and why, what lets us wait until the protagonists play a little too long. Fortunately, the Shanks and his team sets have developed are sufficient in the distraction of the plot mechanics, because each sequence accumulates intelligently at a height of fever and holds the promise of the premise. Note: if you wonder what could happen when a couple infected with something that tries to merge their body together is finally the villain, you will get your answers and then some.
Shanks holds back a little too much while things get wild
Shanks can clearly mix horror and comedy, keeping hilarious things without letting tension decrease, and it is a technique that allows him to play an audience like a violin. “Together” is one of those commercial horror films where you can literally watch an audience react in unison; The cries, laughter and groans all came as if the public had been repeated in advance. As a craftsmanship, Shanks excellently excellent, get around the problems of logic and rules by making every new problem that Tim and Millie have to face a feeling as emotionally true as possible.
If there is a major detriment in the film, it is that the material never breaks entirely through the surface, the film being literally and figuratively deep. This does not mean that there is no substance here – subjects such as Tim’s parental problems make it childish, Millie’s needs manifest themselves as authoritarian, and other elements of this type appear, and They are very welcome when they do. Unfortunately, once the dilemma of body horror in the face of the couple becomes a constant instead of an intermittent problem, it has the impression that a large part of their personal drama is distant – a perfectly timed dialogue line of Brie essentially closes the emotional tension between the duo, and although it creates a huge line of laughter, it looks like a spectacularly missed opportunity.
With Shanks who essentially drop the ball on the war of roses between the couple at that time, the substance “ensemble” happens through the casting of real partners Brie and Franco. This is the second horror film in which they played together (after “The Rental” led by Franco of the 2020s), making it a kind of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands of Indie horror. There is a special thrill that the film has known that we are watching two people who know each other intimately passing by such madness, and although it is not the same exposed tension as, say, “wide eyes” of Kubrick , it’s impressive how clearly the game and Brie are clearly, for the film and each other.
Together makes a big meeting of a meeting night
The amount of “set” under your skin probably depends greatly on the state of your relationship. For singles, it is a film that is light but a hoe, featuring characters who act strange and irrationally long before anyone drinks magic water. For those who have a relationship, I would venture to guess that it could disturb them a little more, which made them re -examine the status of their partnership and be cringing teeth in recognition of the behavior of the couple or feeling superior to them , depending on their situation.
In both cases, single people and couples can appreciate “together” the way he feels like he was designed to be appreciated: as a hoarse, fun and nasty horror film in a cinema. Although the film has its pleasures alone, its effect is absolutely amplified by looking at it with the right audience. In this way, I suppose that the film has a devious sly subtext: after these several long years of relative isolation, where it seems that people have become more and more used to individual experiences, here is a film that nourishes our Fear of others people as well as reinforce our need to share our lives with someone else. As much as you may never fully understand this person next to you, it turns out that “together” is better experienced, well, together.
/ Film assessment: 8 out of 10
“Together” was presented at first at the Film Film Sundance 2025. He will open the theaters on August 1, 2025.
