‘Together’ pokes fun at codependence but can’t stick the landing – 828reviewsNOW

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —

“TOGETHER” (2025, 102 min., directed by Michael Shanks)

Dave Franco and Alison Brie, who are married in real life, star together in “Together,” the new body horror film from writer-director Michael Shanks, to fun but frazzled effect.

A sticky set-up

At its core, “Together” is an obvious, horrifying metaphor for codependence. While grappling with the breakdown of their relationship, Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie) find themselves inexorably drawn to each other, magnetized through a literal attraction of flesh. Their bodies are sticking together.

The set-up is thus:

After making a big move to the countryside, Tim, an unsuccessful but aspirant musician, and Millie, a motivated schoolteacher, are attempting to resuscitate their floundering romance. Despite dating for years and taking the leap to a new home together, during their going-away party, Tim limply rejects a marriage proposal by Millie, setting the sunset voyage of their relationship off with an excruciating screech.

Soon after their move, the two attempt to reignite their connection with a romantic hike in the nearby forest, which ends with a fall into a subterranean cavern studded with subsumed religious accoutrement. In a bold act of machismo, Tim decides to rehydrate by drinking water from the scary pool at the bottom of the cave. When the two escape the underground chapel the next morning, a series of horrifying flesh fusions ensue.

Not quite right for each other

While “Together” is founded on a great idea, it can’t quite marry its two tonal interests. The film wants to be a zany, campy, gross-out horror fest while also interrogating the minutiae of a toxic relationship. Like Tim and Millie themselves, the movie is resistant to fusing those ideas together. Shanks’ script swings from exhausting – though insightful – arguments in one scene to squirm-inducing body horror in another, but the two are so tonally divorced from each other that they rarely coalesce into a cohesive whole. The movie can’t decide if it wants to be funny or intellectual, which ultimately harms both efforts.

“Together” should have chosen the funny route. The most successful segments of the film are when Shanks leans into the silly, disgusting potential of Tim and Millie’s situation. One scene between the two in a bathroom stall, for instance, is one of the most audacious, horrifying, hilarious things I’ve seen this year, and there are several other SFX moments which rival last year’s body horror darling, “The Substance,” for stomach-churning creativity.

Franco feels most comfortable in the camp register, too. The actor pitches his performance in a shrill, whiny register, which has a tremendous impact on making the silly scenes funnier, but his serious moments became hilarious, too. While the fact he and Brie are together in real-life is a ton of fun, the consistently fantastic Brie might have been better matched with a better actor, which might have made for a better movie.

Date night fright

Despite the uneven execution of the film as a whole, the movie has high highs, and its lows, much like the cave Tim and Millie tumble into, are still flecked with fun flourishes. For couples who love horror movies, there is no better date night suggestion than “Together.” But be warned: you might think twice about holding hands after.

Rating: 3/5