Together
Starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco and Damon Herriman
4.5/5
MA15+
Together is a biting body horror satire about toxic codependency and the inherent loss of the individual self in relationships, brought to a Cronenbergian extreme.
After moving to the countryside during a rough stage in their relationship, teacher Millie (Alison Brie) and musician Tim (Dave Franco) begin a shocking transformation stemming from a local cave.
Brie and Franco (who are married in real-life) work extremely well together as a couple for whom their frustrated, clashing relationship and the body-warping paranormal threat are inseparable.
The horror runs on a current of creeping unease sprinkled with icky effects, effective jump-scares and dry humour.
The intriguing plot has glimmers of The Substance (with an inversion of The Substance’s mantra ‘You are one’) and Get Out, and the well-seeded clues bring on anticipatory chills: you feel one step ahead of Millie and Tim, praying for them to catch up, but still in a state of dreadful uncertainty at where the situation is headed.
My only minor issue with the film is a certain scene involving hair that I think hammers the body horror hard a little too early in the narrative.
Together is the feature directorial debut of Michael Shanks, a Melbourne filmmaker and musician (look up Roadgeek) who created the TV miniseries Wizards Of Aus and has released surreal visual effects-driven short films (often video game-themed) on YouTube since 2010.
A suspenseful, squirmingly unpleasant and superbly-directed horror film about two people emotionally driven apart but physically and viscerally brought together, Together may be my favourite film of the year so far, and is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
