TOGETHER (2025)

Available On Demand from Studio NEON!
Directed/Written by Michael Shanks.
Check out the trailer here!!

A couple, Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) move from the big city to a small suburb. While venturing out in the nearby forest trails near their new home, they fall into a fissure in the woods during a rainstorm. While they are trapped in the underground cave system, they find the relics of an old school underground. After a soggy night, the couple eventually find their way out and make it home but soon find themselves physically drawn to one another. Once in contact, their bodies begin the merge with one another, forcing them to deal with this physical problem as well as lingering issues the couple have towards one another.

I want to address the elephant in the abode right away. There is a rumor that this concept was stolen from a low budget movie made a few years ago. I have no idea who thought of what first and honestly, that is stuff for legal teams to figure out, not reviewers. I’m just here to look at the movie at hand and try not to let the controversy affect my viewpoint. So don’t expect a rage-fueled review of TOGETHER, as I have no skin in this game and honestly could care less about two films made focusing on similar topics.

That said, TOGETHER is a wonderfully rich film taking a highly problematic relationship between two people and accentuating the differences in the most horrifying of ways. Dave Franco and Alison Brie are also married in real life, so I’m sure this helps in how convincing this couple is onscreen in both the way they click with one another and how they bravely address these personal issues their two characters experience. Above all, this is a film about a relationship falling apart, challenged with a problem that is trying to keep them together. The way this film presents the challenges these two very different people have with one another is realized well into TOGETHER, so much so that it feels impossible for the two to fix this very broken relationship and one might assume that these two married actors are hashing out some of their issues onscreen. Who knows? I don’t but their performances feel very fleshed out.

I usually have a strong dislike for Dave Franco. I’m not sure why. He kind of seems like a squirrelly little brother hanging around that you just can’t shake. For me, much like Keith Davidson, Franco has such a punchable face. That said, I disliked him a bit less in this role. He does do a good job as the dim and unfocussed but well-meaning boyfriend who just can’t find the time to grow up. Alison Brie is equally charming and while we understand her perspective as well, there are times when it seems she is being overbearing and cold. It really says a lot about a performance if they show good and bad traits yet still feel relatable and both Franco and Brie do that in TOGETHER.

Now, the further into the film one gets, the more holes in the plot start showing. If Tim and Millie spent the night in the cave, why didn’t they see the other couple who somehow show up in the cave during the final moments of the movie. Why is no one in the town letting this new couple about their property’s history. Also, there is a late-in-the-game reveal that one can call from a mile away.

The effects are top notch. Seeing the way Brie and Franco schmeld together and then tear each other apart is both heinous and hilarious. This is a very serious movie with dire consequences, but the down-to-earth way Franco and Brie deal with this urge to merge with each other definitely has a dark comedic edge. Things get extreme once the two realize there is something definitely wrong with them but don’t know how to fix it. The final moments are some of the most bizarre and memorable body horror since THE SUBSTANCE.

I was surprised how much I liked this little film about a couple with big issues. Like many good horror films, TOGETHER is steeped in rich metaphor, speaking volumes about dependent relationships and commitment phobia, hurdles many couples can relate to. It just slathers the whole theme with fleshy ooze and over the top gore. TOGETHER one will definitely be one you talk about with your significant other afterwards.