Together

Together is the debut feature from Australian Filmmaker Michael Shanks. The film is a body horror film steeped in a millennial milieu. The film follows Millie and Tim, played by real-life couple Alison Brie (Community) and Dave Franco (21 Jump Street). The two are going through a rough patch in their relationship as they move from their cool apartment with all their artsy friends in the city to a huge house in the country because Millie got a new teaching job. While they settle in, there’s some turmoil in their relationship stemming from Tim not saying yes to a marriage proposal during their going-away party. During the move into the new house, the pair encounter spooky foreshadowing like finding a rat king in the light fixture, which triggers Tim’s memory of his past trauma of finding his father dead when he was a kid.  Which is an addition that is spooky while it’s happening, the flashbacks are truly scary but get quickly abandoned thematically when the plot gets going.

While on a hike in the woods, the pair gets caught in the rain and subsequently gets lost. During their wandering, they encounter a mysterious hole surrounded by strange bells. They both slip into the hole and spend the night. Without any extra water, they are forced to drink from the pool at the base of the cave, which begins to make them supernaturally attached. The remainder of the film is the two continuing to fight and grow apart as the supernatural water forces them to come together physically, even to the point where they become drawn together like magnets during their sleep. From here, there are some very effective scenes of the two melding together physically. I did enjoy the scenes where they began to attach; these scenes provide a gross comedy in the body horror a la the shunting scene in the OG body horror picture, Society. The film really shines in these scenes; the practical effects are gross, and the performances by Brie and Franco are very funny.

Together is a solid body horror film with a heavy-handed message of codependency and complacency in relationships; the only problem I have with the movie is the tonal shifts throughout that never solidify into a coherent genre. The film could have been just a bit more gross in the body horror, or it could have been a bit funnier. There’s also a folk horror element which was saved for the end of the film, but I think it would have served better if it were a larger part of the film throughout. There are also a few interesting plot elements that are interesting when they happen, but are soon abandoned, sadly, as the film opens with dogs drinking from the pool and ending up as weird and mutated creatures when they join, but that’s abandoned. There is a folk horror element in the film, which explains why the pool makes the two joins together, but it’s done somewhat sloppily, and I feel like it would have been better if this element of the plot hadn’t taken the spotlight. Shanks tries to balance humor and gore and tries to introduce too many other horror elements to the point where it feels like the movie doesn’t know what it wants to be. Despite the clunkiness of the tone, the movie is still entertaining; it just does the cardinal sin of making me want to watch the better version of this movie, which, as I mentioned before, is Society. Overall, I would give this a soft recommendation.

Vital Disc Stats: Blu-ray 
Alison Brie and Dave Franco come Together on home video through a single-disc Blu-ray release from Neon. The disc is housed in a standard case, our disc did not include a slipcover. The disc loads to a standard main menu system with basic navigation options. 

Together has serviceable visuals. The cinematography is good for the most part; however, you can tell the budget wasn’t the biggest for the film, for instance, the picture isn’t particularly dynamic, and at times looks flat. This release is in 1080P; you can see everything clearly, even in the night scenes, where many recent films struggle with lighting, but this film does a good job of creating a creepy atmosphere. My favorite-looking scenes in the movie are during the dream sequences, when a film-grain filter is applied, which turns the creepy factor up. A good portion of the film is shot in natural light outdoors and looks pretty good. The greens of the trees and grass shine through in this release during the daytime scenes.

The audio of this release is in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Ch. This sound comes out balanced, during the bursts of action, your speakers don’t get blown out, and the whispers are still audible. The rest of the dialogue comes through clearly. Like the visuals of the dream sequences, the audio is also a highlight. The scene is quiet, but there’s a hum that really makes the scene more horrifying, and I wish the entire film had that feeling to it. The soundtrack to the film is nondescript but creates a creepy atmosphere throughout the film. I also loved the use of The Spice Girls in the finale.

The supplements for this release are nice, but certainly not the reason for purchasing this disc. The interviews with the director and stars, as well as the codependency quiz with the stars, seem to have been slapped together from a press junket. While there is some interesting behind-the-scenes footage in both interviews, these do seem more like they’re trying to sell the movie to someone rather than have interviews that feel genuine.

• Interview with Director Michael Shanks (5:05)
• Interview with Dave Franco and Alison Brie (5:46)
• Codependency Quiz (1:01)
• Teaser (1:22)
• Trailer (2:17)

This is an average release of a pretty good body horror movie. At times, the film has really interesting practical effects. The body melding scenes are good when they’re done right; sadly, they descend into CGI, which is always a bummer. I know they couldn’t do what Society did back in the 80’s because CGI is so much cheaper and easier than having a completely practical effects-driven horror film. But at times, Together really did make me think “wow, I feel like revisiting Society or The Thing” to scratch that particular body horror itch. The release is pretty average but serviceable. The AV in this release is average; you can see and hear everything with ease, and it looks pretty good on Blu-ray, though a 4K release may be better suited for this particular film. The supplements leave something to be desired. I would suggest not killing two birds with one stone; film these interviews between talking to publications. There also just isn’t much to the supplements at all; I wish there were a commentary track to talk more about the effects. Overall, this movie is worth watching; it’s definitely for people who want to get into horror without it being too scary. I would say this release of Together is worth a look.