MOVIE SCENE CANADA
SYNOPSIS:
With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.
Writer-director Michael Shanks approaches horror with a devilish exuberance that relishes in creating wildly expressive nightmarish moments. His feature-length directorial debut pulls off an impressive progression of body horror freak-outs as it follows a dysfunctional couple’s big move away from the city to a more isolated existence. As they lose contact with home, friends, and their sense of self beyond their troubled dynamic, Shanks’ clever script grounds their emotional turmoil within its extreme take on the horrors of codependent relationships. With this couple, things will have to get worse — like a lot worse — before they get better. Bringing an unquantifiable chemistry to their roles, Dave Franco and Alison Brie give their all to this freakish world, diving headfirst into a physical and emotional maelstrom.
SUNDANCE REVIEW 2025 - BY DARREN ZAKUS
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Rating: 4 out of 5
Together will have audiences squirming in their seats due to the wicked genius of writer and director Michael Shanks’ feature film debut thanks to the great effects work bringing to life the twisted body horror and the stellar pairing of Alison Brie and Dave Franco in what is destined to become a new body horror fan favourite film!
Following on the highly successful footsteps of The Substance, the body horror genre is about to make a major comeback. While the films in this subgenre are largely more grounded in reality, the gooey, gross and bloody madness that ensues in them is more than enough to make anyone’s stomach turn. At this year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival, there were two body horror films that made their debut in the Midnight program, but it was the feature directorial debut from Michael Shanks that had the entire festival buzzing and marked the first sale when Neon picked up distribution to Together. Without question, Together is the twisted love child of The Substance and the 80s body horror fan favourite Society, that armed the brilliant pairing of real husband and wife Dave Franco and Alison Brie as the film’s central couple, viewers are in for one twisted, absolutely disturbing and hilarious horror experience.
Being a body horror film, audiences are expecting grotesque moments to not only make their stomachs queasy during the film, but to haunt their minds long after the credits have ended. And with a title such as Together, you have a pretty clear indication of what the gross out factor of the film may be. While the body horror element is basically the reverse of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, but like any good horror movie, there is a compelling human drama at the centre of the film. Tim and Millie have been together forever but have been in a rough patch since the death of Tim’s parents, but they are hoping that moving out of the side to a small town for Millie’s new teaching position will help them start a new chapter in their life. Needless to say, they get more than they bargain for. There is no question that audiences are turning up for the horror elements of the film, but Shanks has a solid drama at the centre of it, unpacking a relationship hanging on by a thread as the couple moves into the next step of their life together. The emotional reckoning between Tim and Millie leads to some great moments for Franco and Brie to work, that can only be described as intense couples therapy as the grapple with whether they can truly share their life with one another. Some of the fights will have you stunned as the emotions during them can be ruthless, though Shanks balances it out with some greatly timed comedic moments that tease the grossness and absurdity that is about to unfold. But in the end, it all works together to underscore the body horror elements of the story and raise the stakes for the characters, and further invest viewers in their arcs.
While a film in the body horror genre could easily rely solely on gross imagery to create fear and sickness in its viewers, what Shanks has written is far more effective and compelling. Saving the most outrageous gross out moments until the film’s final scenes, Shanks constantly teases what is about to unfold with small yet disturbing moments, often bloody to really get viewers going. Whether it being Tim and Millie’s skin starting to stick together, them being “attracted” to each other in intense and unusual ways, or that unforgettable scene at Millie’s school, Shanks slowly builds to the long teased moment with constant uncomfortableness, disturbing shots of Tim and Millie’s skin, and the lore behind what is happening (even though if you are paying close enough you can guess the twist of the third act earlier on). When combined with great visual effects and elements of CGI where needed, Shanks creates a palpable tension that drives the film from start to finish that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So when Shanks gets to “the” moment of the film that viewers have been waiting for/dreading, there is no doubt they will be squirming in their seats, though laughing at the same time with what has to be the greatest Spice Girls needle drop in cinematic history. The result is multiple moments throughout the film where the audience will be holding their breath in an uncomfortable fear, muttering “oh my god” to themselves or potentially screaming out loud, cheering for the gnarly imagery on screen, or flat out losing their mind with what Shanks has cooked up.
Being husband and wife in real life, there is nothing holding Brie and Franco back from unleashing their all in the performances. The romance between them is undeniable, even as Tim and Millie fight with each other, it comes across as a passionate fight that fully invests the audience in Tim and Millie’s struggles. Given the closeness that is required of them, there is an ease between Brie and Franco that comes naturally, helping to make some of the film’s most disgusting moments even more disturbing while Brie and Franco bare it all with an intense closeness. As individual performers, both Brie and Franco embrace the madness of the script and bring the requisite amount of fear, disturbance and fight to their characters as Tim and Millie come to terms with what is actually happening to them. Shanks has truly hit gold with Brie and Franco, because while any actors could bring the characters and terror to life, there is no replicating the deep romantic connection and comfortableness that Brie and Franco bring when they star in projects together, especially given that the entirety of Together relies on their central performances.
It has been a great time to be a horror lover over the past few years, and Michael Shanks continues the streak of the genre with this gooey, often hilarious, and flat out shocking horror film that fans are going to love. With the pairing of Dave Franco and Alison Brie lighting up the screen in every faucet of their performances, Michael Shanks is able to unleash his terrifying vision on audiences with great effects work to make sure the uncomfortable closeness between Tim and Millie an absolute squirm-fest that demands to be seen on the big screen with a sold out crowd! Packed with horrifying visuals, outright hilarious moments and a palpable uncomfortableness and tension as Michael Shanks closely leads viewers to the that unforgettable and long teased conclusion, Together delivers a phenomenal body horror experience that is bolstered by the excellent performances of Alison Brie and Dave Franco that is destined to become a new fan favourite of the genre.