Together review: A gross body horror that doesn’t go far enough
Married actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco have worked together several times before, but they’ve saved their best collaboration for right now, with the icky body horror Together.
They play Millie and Tim, who have been together for so long they’ve never stopped to question if they actually love each other anymore or if they’re just going through the motions. The cracks in their relationship are magnified when they move out of the city to a remote area for Millie’s job. One day on a hiking trip, they fall into a creepy cave with “cult vibes” and become infected. They are taken over by a mysterious force that pulls them together, to the point where their bodies begin to fuse.
Together, written and directed by Michael Shanks, isn’t simply a body horror; there’s a bunch of other genres in the mix. It’s mostly a relationship drama in the beginning, as Millie and Tim navigate their new lives in the middle of nowhere. The writing about their relationship is very strong and they say some brutal things to each other. There are splashes of comedy throughout (a scene involving Diazepam is hilarious) and other types of creepy, jumpy supernatural horror too, including a contortion that fully freaked me out.
But the body horror is the main event and is so grotesque to see their bodies merging together. The brilliant practical effects and prosthetics make it look so realistic (until you get to the CGI stuff at the end). You don’t see much blood and gore, but I winced so hard whenever they tried to pull themselves apart. The sound effects, the skin pulling… Urgh.
However, the body horror also doesn’t go far enough. I wanted it to be darker, grosser and more extreme. There are some grim moments, for sure, but I wanted more. I thought the final section could have been elongated to really milk the disgusting nature of it, but it was really rushed and we didn’t sit with the imagery for long at all (perhaps this was a budget issue). Also, I’m not expecting a ton of explanation, but a bit more would have been nice.
It was a stroke of genius casting actors who are married in real life, especially ones who have been together for a similar length of time. They can bring their built-in chemistry to their characters. I was particularly impressed by Franco, who gives a raw and vulnerable performance as the more co-dependent partner. Tim gets affected sooner and he really struggles being apart from Millie. Damon Herriman also deserves a shout-out for playing a creepy neighbour and colleague.
This year’s answer to The Substance, Together is a twisted, wild ride that is a lot of fun to watch with a crowd. I just wanted Shanks to push it a little bit further and get even crazier!
In cinemas from Friday 15th August