Sexy, Scary Thriller Stars Hollywood’s Hottest Couple

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

I really, really love horror movies. Like, all of them. But as an ‘80s kid, my preference is for slashers where over-the-top killers slowly pick off hapless teens, one by one. By comparison, body horror is something I have to really be in the mood for because it feels more visceral and, in many ways, much scarier. In a Friday the 13th film, the worst Jason Voorhees will do is brutally stab someone. But in a body horror film, you’re likely to get melting bodies, mutated faces, and explosive showers of gore. It’s genuinely disturbing stuff, and the right cast can transform such a film into an instant classic.

That’s exactly what happened with Together, the powerhouse directorial debut from Michael Shanks. The movie stars real-life couple James Franco and Alison Brie, and their chemistry adds so many layers of electric tension to almost every scene. Like many, I’m a huge fan of Community, and I’d happily watch Brie read a phone book. Fortunately, Together is much more entertaining than that, and she’s at her sexy, charismatic best in a film that explores everything from compromise to codependence. It’s a relationship film in a creepy horror wrapper, meaning you and your partner can enjoy the world’s weirdest date night by streaming Together, well, Together!  

The Scariest Relationship

The premise of Together is that a couple (played by Dave Franco and Alison Brie) is in a relationship that has grown stagnant. They try to patch things up with some big changes: she gets a job teaching at an elementary school, and he moves to the new town with her to focus on his music career. Things are still rocky, but they try to bond by exploring their new town together. After falling into a cave, however, they discover something horrific: their bodies are physically trying to merge together, and tearing themselves apart afterward causes pain and, quite possibly, death.

Together is powerful largely because it focuses entirely on our two main characters, Tim and Millie. Sure, there are other characters, including friends at a going-away party and a friendly teacher at the elementary school. The vast majority of the time, however, we are just focused on this couple and their relationship troubles. Those troubles form a kind of Rorschach test early in the movie as viewers try to decide who is most to blame. Is it Millie for expecting too much of her man, who makes a major life change for her despite grieving his recently deceased parents? Or is it Tim, a slacker who spent years failing to get his life together?

Learning To See Eye To Eye

The drama between these characters is that much more potent because of their talented actors. Dave Franco and Alison Brie are great on their own, but they are perfect onscreen together because they are a couple in real life. This allows the two to infuse scenes with all of the emotional highs and lows of an actual relationship. When they have snippy little fights over everything from navigation to sex, it feels both relatable and raw. However, their affection for each other is very clear, with their arguments reflecting (with painful accuracy) how nobody can hurt you like the one you love. In that way, Together features one of the most realistic portrayals of a relationship in modern film.

As an added bonus, Together strikes that rare balance between powerful social commentary and visceral storytelling. The couple at the center of this film is painfully codependent, something dramatized by the horrific concept of being forced to become one body. That premise leads to some great grossout moments courtesy of director Michael Shanks, who is clearly a fan of David Cronenberg. Even as the body horror gives audiences a visceral ick, though, the film asks some hard questions: what causes codependence? How do you maintain individuality in a relationship? And how much of yourself can you sacrifice before there’s just nothing left?

If that sounds a bit heavy, don’t worry: Together also has sprinkles of weird humor throughout, much of it coming from the easygoing banter between Dave Franco and Alison Brie. The movie isn’t exactly a comedy, but it will make you laugh, and those moments of levity help to offset the more harrowing scenes. At the same time, the comedy underscores the terror of their characters’ bizarre situation. That situation will hit that much harder for anyone currently in a relationship because it forces you to ask yet another hard question: what if this were happening to us? 

There’s not much else to say about Together without ruining some of its delicious twists and turns, and trust me: it’s worth experiencing these surprises for yourself. If you’re still on the fence, you should know this quirky horror movie has a whopping 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the rare horror film that blew critics’ minds. Will it blow your mind, though, or just make you want to start merging your hand with the remote as you change the channel? You won’t know until you find out for yourself; Together is currently streaming on Hulu.