Together Review

Complacency Can Be Horrifying

One of the most romantic lines of the 2020s comes from the 2023 Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere at Once. Ke Huy Quan's character says to Michelle Yeoh as they traveled across universes that, "In another life...I would have really liked...just doing laundry...and taxes with you." A longing way to say that you can find love in the most mundane activities. I think about my "taxes and laundry" sitting next to my lovely fiancée as she plans Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, and beside her, I am scrolling Amazon for deals on 4K movies, just holding hands. I think that to some, the thought of safety can be terrifying, as if you're together for the wrong reasons and have become complacent about each other's needs, possibly even resentful. Michael Shank's Together (2025), starring married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie, attempts to explore a co-dependent relationship in which comfortable resentment boils over into body horror, ultimately coming up flat. I'm afraid The Breakup meets The Thing doesn't have it, as the script here seems rather bare bones, and the tonal whiplash from horror to comedy at times is just too much, coming off as schlock. The film's only central theme that rings true is that you should never leave the city for the suburbs, as only bad things can happen.

Together is the story of Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie), who move from the big city to the suburbs, where Millie starts a new job as a teacher and Tim continues his pursuit of a music career. One day, while hiking, Tim drinks from a mysterious well in a creepy cult cave and starts experiencing weird side effects. These include an inability to be far from Millie, where, at night, his body will convulse towards hers and begin to merge with hers. Millie soon begins to have the same side effects, and the two must figure out what's wrong with their bodies and their relationship to stop some weird cult from making them join together.

This is far from the first film to feature leads who are dating or married at the forefront. Most famously, Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman exploring psycho sexual and shame in captivating ways, making their relationship seem to be very intense. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who weren't "dating" at the time, brought a steamy chemistry on screen that elevated their performance in that just okay spy thriller to another level. The difference here is that Dave Franco and Alison Brie don't have the same level of juice as those two other couples. They are perfectly fine bashing insults and making snide comments at each other on screen, but it all feels so stilted or forced. Sure, they are dropping lines that many in long-term relationships, who might be teetering on the breaking point, will resonate with, but it all just felt off, as though you could feel it coming off a script, not a real person.

The problem with Together is the tonal whiplash that may stem from the comedic background of the two leads. The film presents itself as pure horror, but at times it feels like it's unsure of its direction, shifting between grotesque and romcom elements, which hurts the film. However, when it delves into body horror, it succeeds. The sound design, as hands merge into arms, and we see stomachs and feet crawl, and limbs exorcist-style flip over each other, is exciting, leading to two great sequences in a hallway where the two leads are being possessed towards each other, and another one in a bathroom that balances the hilariousness with the thrilling. I think Together struggles to know what it wants to be and found most of the direction to be pretty safe, with the exception that the moment Franco's character is possessed by Brie's car, outside of that, the film has this weird malaise over it, and did not find it particularly interesting to look at. Despite its flaws, the film's unique take on body horror and relationship dynamics is something that might pique the interest of horror enthusiasts.

For some sickos, I think there will be something for them to latch onto, especially those who love the body horror genre, but it does nothing inventive and features an ending that I rolled my eyes at, which I found to be quite bad. Together aims to be a body horror breakup that delves into the complexities of intimacy, reliance, and growth with someone, but ultimately proves somewhat forgettable. Generic body horror is better than none, but it's not enough to save the film from its weak ending.

Final Score: 5/10

Written by Kevin J. Pettit