Horror: R16 – Violence, horror, sex scenes & offensive language

Director: Michael Shanks

Starring: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman

Runtime: 1hr 42min

8/10

Real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie explore the risks of co-dependency and commitment in director Michael Shanks full-length feature debut Together.

The film follows Tim and Millie, a couple who find themselves at a crossroads a decade into their relationship after moving to the country and falling into a cave on a hike gone wrong.

As their relationship starts to crack, a supernatural encounter draws their bodies to each other in increasingly creepy ways.

At points, I wanted them to end up together while simultaneously and paradoxically wanting them to run very far away from each other. Forever.

Opening with a sequence involving dogs was effective in setting up the stakes, but do not get attached (unlike them).

After an awkward sort-of proposal attempt in front of their friends and family, Tim and Millie grapple with the sacrifices of commitment and the fear of starting anew while navigating the awkwardness and isolation of moving to a new town and lack of support systems.

Although this is a horror, it’s mostly a lot of fun. Body horror sequences, while still disturbing, are nothing compared to last year’s The Substance. The film is excellent at creating a sense of claustrophobia, familiar to those who have found themselves in avoidant/anxious attachment style dynamics.

Both Dave Franco and Alison Brie bring their A-game to these roles, from an acting standpoint and a weird-physical-sequences standpoint.

Contortions, prosthetics, timing and visual effects galore combine to make a thrilling experience that at times I did not cope well with, but I am squeamish in Disney movies so that’s not saying much.

I didn’t expect this movie to be so funny – it feels like watching your friends lose themselves in a subpar relationship but also wanting them to be happy? I felt confused by the end, but I think that was intentional.

The cinematography seemed too good for a film of this calibre, using space, zooms and framing to contribute to the claustrophobic feel – despite the large sets.

There’s a particularly stressful (for me) scene in a bathroom stall where I told my friend, “If [this thing] happens, I’m going to walk out of the theatre”. Then, the thing happened, and I didn’t walk out of the theatre – and I don’t know if that’s a testament to the movie or my lack of follow-through.

The music is perfect – with the score rapidly alternating between discordant and harmonious chords to capture the unsettling fluctuation between utter misery and sweet relief when in a relationship on the rocks.

It reminded me of Midsommar and The Substance, although more fun and followable than both those films, if less technically excellent.

The end almost feels rushed but it also delivers on all its horror promises, and I liked that it toyed with my expectations a little.

Horror movie consequences wise – I didn’t have any trouble sleeping after this movie, but when people were hugging me at an event I attended afterwards, I found it incredibly claustrophobic.

I’ll add this to the list of movies (currently Midsommar and The Materialists)I’ll recommend to my friends when I think they should break up with their partners. 8/10.