'Together' Review: A Romantic And Grotesque Delight
With the overcrowded horror genre rising in popularity in recent years, Together aims to ride the wave and carve its own unique and grotesque path. Thankfully, this horror film has as much heart as it does gnarly thrills and chills.
Together centers on Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie), a couple who have been in a deeply committed relationship for years, but have slowly grown more distant from one another. However, after they decide to move to the country and encounter an unknown supernatural force, their relationship issues become the least of their concerns as their lives, love and even flesh become tested and corrupted.
Brie and Franco have worked together before in films like Franco’s directorial debut The Rental, but this film is the first time the married couple have led a vehicle of their own where their chemistry and bond is front and center. Luckily, they’ve picked the right project to collaborate on because it’s hard to imagine any two other performers bringing the same level of physicality and visceral emotion they do throughout. Not only does their real life marital bond seep into their performances, allowing the core relationship between Tim and Millie to feel lived-in, but it allows the two to have an effortless chemistry and a clear inherent trust in one another as they both dive off the deep end into harrowing, physically demanding waters where their talents and comfortability are pushed to the limit. Both of them deliver tremendous performances, delivering the raw emotion and terror required for a horrific and heartbreaking tale like this. The two bring out the best in one another, both delivering two of the finest performances of their impressive careers thus far.
Director Michael Shanks’ is also a standout here, his direction confident, assured, and creative especially as our central couple begins unraveling and experiencing supernatural trauma. Shanks always puts characters first and thrills second, allowing the audience to become emotionally invested in this couple before the impressively disgusting practical effects and makeup take centerstage. Not only does Shanks deliver some surprisingly effective jump scares here and there, but he creates a creepy, claustrophobic and wholly immersive atmosphere that grabs the audience from the jump.
However, the most notable asset the film has is by far and away its unique blend of practical and visual effects. Throughout, the line between the two feels blurred, not only adding a tactile, authentic feel to the film’s most gory and disturbing sequences, but effectively showcasing this couple’s state of mind and physical experiences from their point of view in ways that are deeply engrossing and terrifying. There are countless moments where audiences will feel the need to squirm or look away, but the filmmaking here is so precise and magnetic that it’s often hard to look away.
The film is also very well-paced, never losing momentum or narrative propulsion as it slowly unravels the mystery this couple stumbles across. The mythology surrounding the supernatural force they encounter is not only intriguing, but the script cleverly sidesteps many pitfalls of films in the genre, utilizing a less is more approach to build suspense and tension. In fact, the film centers far more on Tim and Millie’s relationship and love story, which proves to be as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking despite the chaos and terror that surrounds them. In turn, the film naturally becomes an emotionally harrowing character study and without a doubt the most disgusting romance film audiences will have the pleasure of seeing all year.
However, this horror entry isn’t perfect. While the film remains engaging and delightfully mysterious throughout, there are some reveals that are extremely predictable that fail to shock or enhance the story. There are also some supporting characters that aren’t fleshed out much and feel a bit extraneous on the whole. Damon Herriman, who plays a fellow teacher Millie befriends at her new job, is utterly wasted here and given a thankless role that fails to give the talented actor any meat to chew off the bone. Excising these unnecessary characters from the story would help shift more focus onto Tim and Millie, giving the film an even more claustrophobic and contained atmosphere that would have benefited it greatly.
Together is easily one of the biggest pleasant surprises of 2025 thus far, not only delivering one of the best horror films of the year, but one of the most original and handsomely made as well. Franco and Brie’s dynamite chemistry, coupled with some phenomenal practical effects and direction, make this the must-see, deranged date night event of the year. It may not be for the faint of heart, but couples will leave this one not only feeling like they’ve been tested emotionally and physically, but smiling ear to ear as well.