Body-horror freaks — I mean, fans — have been feasting on some truly disgusting films over the past half-decade. That’s thanks to gross-out instant classics like Coralie Fargeat’s Best Picture-nominated The Substance, Julia Ducournau’s Titane and king of the subgenre David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. Michael Shanks’ feature-film debut Together is the latest addition to the new-school disgusterpiece canon.
That said, Together is far from an actual masterpiece. The story is thin, and the themes are well-trodden in the world of genre cinema. But it’s absolutely a first-ballot inductee into the Stomach-Churning Movie Hall of Fame.
Real-life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco star as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple moving from their apartment in the city (presumably New York City, but it could be any Northeast metro area) to a more remote spot a few hours upstate. Millie is taking a new job as a teacher at a small-town school. Tim, an emotionally stunted guy who still believes he’s going to become a rock star in his mid-30s, is struggling with the move.
It’s been a rocky few months in the lead-up to the move. To Tim, whose parents are both dead, moving away means leaving behind his friends, who he feels are the only family he knows. This sense of separation anxiety — coupled with the stress of the move and a sense of being stuck with one person in a remote home — causes Tim to close off from Millie in numerous ways. The couple wonder if they need some time apart.
One weekend after moving in, the two decide to hike one of the many forest trails near their new home. After getting lost (and failing to properly make use of the compass app on Tim’s smartphone), they end up falling into a cave filled with the ruins of what appears to be an old church. Lacking water and a way out, they drink from a pool in the creepy cave before spending the night there. If you’ve seen even a single horror movie, you know this does not bode well for our protagonists.
The Demi Moore-starring body-horror film hits the Belcourt and Regal and AMC theaters this week
Tim begins experiencing bizarre issues. When he and Millie are apart, he quickly becomes overwhelmingly weak, his body nearly on autopilot. The recurring nightmares about his parents’ gruesome deaths get worse. He wakes up one night choking on Millie’s hair. Millie chalks all this up to Tim’s mental state following the move. But once Millie begins experiencing the same symptoms, the body-horror chaos truly begins. I won’t spoil the fun, but cults, the Spice Girls and Hollywood’s most underrated character actor Damon Herriman (who played Charles Manson in BOTH Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Netflix’s Mindhunter) are involved.
Together’s themes are on-the-nose, and it’s clear this is Shanks’ first time directing a feature film. It’s thanks to Brie, Franco and — perhaps most importantly — the film’s practical effects and makeup teams that the movie is as effective as it is. Our lead actors’ baked-in chemistry and comedy chops endear you to the couple. And the practical effects are truly gnarly. I’ll never look at a reciprocating saw the same way again.
With the dreamlike surroundings and horrific humor, Together feels ripped straight from the Ari Aster playbook. Cornel Wilczek’s score even sounds a bit like The Haxan Cloak’s work in Midsommar and Beau Is Afraid.
But the cast and below-the-line crew make Together stand out as a worthwhile outing for horror fans. Make sure to bring your barf bag.
