A lot will be made about the relationship dynamics and performance between Alison Brie and Dave Franco in Together. The horror tale of codependence in relationships goes into all the hallmarks of what makes a relationship so frightening at points. This is the story of a couple who have been TOGETHER for years and now they’re making a new step, moving to a new place far from their friends and family. It means they’ve got themselves, and that’s it. Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie) have issues, but like most couples, they can work through them. That leads them on a hike and getting stuck in a strange cave system near their home. The cave is strange and looks like its a sinkhole that formerly housed a church of some sort, they drink the water in the cave to survive the night, and eventually get out.

That’s where Together goes from your standard couple story to something much more with body horror elements and an entire conspiracy about this small place that Tim and Millie live. If you’ve seen some of David Cronenberg’s most famous movies, or even the more recent Infinity Pool, Together fits right in with those films. But under the surface, there’s something else with Together that feels a bit half-baked.

So let’s dive into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Together.

The Good Of Together

The absolute smash highlight of Together is the chemistry between Alison Brie and Dave Franco. They’ve been married for more than a decade at this point, so the idea of casting a married couple to play a role like this was a stroke of genius. After seeing the movie, I can’t see any other performers doing a better job than these two. The archetypal roles that they play see Tim as the “man-child” who’s still chasing a dream that might be unreachable with his music career, while Millie is the breadwinner, who was the one who took this job teaching in a more remote and less populated place. It’s the point of contention in their relationship, on top of the fact that Tim hasn’t proposed to Millie after such a long relationship.

The rest of the film doesn’t have very many huge performances, but one that’s kind of shocking in a great way is Damon Herriman. He plays Jamie, a colleague of Millie, in such a way that makes you think one thing is going to happen, and then Michael Shanks’ script takes it in a completely different direction. The movie is almost exclusively Brie and Franco performing together, but Herriman’s performance deserves some accolades.

The squishy, gooey body effects of Together also deserve a special mention. They’re horrifying at best, and they’re downright squirm-inducing when you get to the (pun intended) meat of Together. Some of the effects are simply implied, and you can use your imagination as to how awkward and painful they’d be. Others are shown in graphic detail, and every moment makes you want to look away, but your eyes are locked on the screen.

Finally, the scares just work. Michael Shanks does a great job building up the tension and ratcheting it up and up until you really can’t take it anymore, only to hit you with a scare. It’s a great showing for organic scares in a movie that doesn’t feel cheap.

The Bad And Ugly Of Together

The ending of the film is where it almost lost me. It builds and builds to this crescendo, you think that one thing is going to happen, and then it does a redirect that feels strange. The movie is all about codependency, and the ending reaffirms that, but the effect and the questions it leaves you with were a bit too much for me.

The film also has this sort of grand conspiracy surrounding the reasons why Millie and Tim (and other couples) have disappeared, but it feels like it’s half-baked. They needed an explanation, but this one feels like it cheapens the whole thing. That being said, there are other explanations and commentary you can make on a cultish religious group and codependency, but the film doesn’t feel like it needed that. The commentary on the codependency of this couple feels like it was enough.

Overall, Together is still a fine body horror movie. It features smashing performances from Alison Brie and Dave Franco. The effects in the film are top notch, some of the best of the year, but what drags it down from an all-timer is the surrounding elements. Michael Shanks and NEON still have one of the year’s best horror movies on their hands though.

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