“So lucky few we are who become whole.”
Real life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco bring their actual chemistry to the big screen in a modern horror film that explores teetering relationships and the supernatural. Together takes us into the years-long relationship of Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie), an aspiring musician and schoolteacher respectively, who find themselves at a crossroads when they move to the New York countryside away from the city. While hiking in the nearby forest, the two have a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force that threatens to test their already struggling relationship, and ultimately their lives.
If you’re at all familiar with modern horror, you’re aware that the current throughline with much of what has been released in modern times is horror with relatable subtext of some sort. Together is no exception, with the first two acts of the film being more of a relationship drama with the horror element in the background slowly coming into view. Millie and Tim begin the film with uncertainty about the direction of their relationship as they move from city life to small town upstate New York with the relationship slowly deteriorating over the next hour as the issues with Tim’s lack of professional direction and Millie’s push to move bubble to the surface. If this sounds a bit like Ari Aster’s 2019 beloved horror film Midsommar, you’re not totally blameless in seeing the parallels. Much like that film was a documentation of a breakup, Together is a film about relationship struggles. While similar in structure, the relationship at the center of this film isn’t as interesting or compelling as Aster’s union, but isn’t totally boring either. Franco and Brie have decent chemistry, which is to be expected for a real life couple, but the distance in acting ability between the two with Brie performing more capably by a comfortable margin can be distracting at times during the more dramatic moments.
Where Together makes a turn for the positive however is with its body horror third act where the scary part of the film finally comes into full view. The reveal of just what is happening to Millie and Tim is slowly pulled back layer by layer in an engrossing way with a slight twist thrown in that adds the perfect amount of intrigue to pull the audience all the way in. The slight clues strewn throughout the film come full circle in a light bulb way that makes the previous hour feel like a worthy lead up to a satisfying payoff. The visual effects of the body horror are also well done, particularly considering the indie budget with which director Michael Shanks is working.
Together gets off to a decent start but brings everything together in a satisfying fashion during a third act that melds horror perfectly into the relationship drama that comprises its first two-thirds. The film also has a bit more humor than one may expect, most notably during a kitchen scene with Millie and Tim when things first begin to get really weird for the couple. Alison Brie and Dave Franco do enough with the material and their chemistry to carry the more character focused beginning until the fun begins, with Brie doing most of the heavy lifting. A nod must also be given to the pacing which makes the first two acts manageable and, when combined with how well the third act plays, is a testament to Michael Shanks’ direction. He even manages to include some interesting camera work throughout, including a well edited, twisting back and forth featuring Tim having his first mysterious panic attack in a shower juxtaposed to Millie’s quick car ride to the grocery store. Together tracks with what we’ve come to expect from modern horror, but does it well enough to be an enjoyable watch and pleasant surprise.
Image: NEON
