Together (2025)

Every once in a while, a low-budget horror film sneaks up on us and reminds audiences that creativity, commitment, and sheer audacity can outshine any Hollywood spectacle. Michael Shanks’Togetheris exactly that kind of film. Shot in Melbourne for just $3.5 million and already grossing close to $28 million worldwide, this queasy little gem has earned its cult status — not only because of its bizarre premise and nightmarish imagery, but also because of the fearless performances at its core.

Real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie don’t just star as Tim and Millie, they also produced the film, throwing themselves body and soul into one of the most grotesquely funny, oddly moving love stories you’ll see all year.Yes, controversy has shadowedTogether. The producers of 2023’sBetter Halfhave filed a lawsuit, claiming Shanks’ script “ripped off” their concept of a couple fused together, right down to a cheekySpiceworldalbum gag. Brie, Franco, and Shanks maintain the idea was independently created and registered with the Writers Guild of America as early as 2019. Wherever the courts land, one thing is undeniable:Togetheris a bold, original execution of a very old idea — that love is about becoming one, even when it’s messy, suffocating, and terrifying.

This current year, as well as the past several, has seen a slowly building increase in something the horror genre has required for quite a while in this critic's opinion...originality. I've stated before that I am very hard to please when it comes to this vein of the film industry's offerings, always leaning more towards that which sends chills through my very being in lieu of buckets of blood and gore. With this recently released effort from director Michael Shanks....SUCCESS!!

Delivering an atmosphere that is palpably tension-filled, at (brief!) times strangely comedic, ultimately unsettling, ominous, and unequivocally creepy, Shanks weaves a tale of relational stresses forming between a young couple Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) after a move to the country that's meant to help their union only ends up serving to bring about an unearthly encounter that will drastically alter them, and ALL they are, in more ways than either would have ever expected....or wanted.

The beauty of how Shanks directs this effort is the slow burn (but not TOO slow) manner he executes the story in order to introduce us fully to the couple and their growing discontent before launching us into the circumstances which usher in the supernaturally and body horror-centric elements that, once present, just take over in the best of ways. There are some seriously jarring moments, effective jump scares, and the aforementioned, consistent aura of uneasiness that visually the film tackles masterfully.