I’ve been noticing something over the last few years: body horror, once considered the domain of niche sickos and Cronenberg completists, is no longer hiding in the fringes. It’s walking proudly into the spotlight. It’s getting awards buzz. It’s getting big-name stars. It’s selling out screenings at Sundance.
We saw it in 2021 with Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” — a film that took home the Palme d’Or. Last year, Demi Moore’s shocking metamorphosis in Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Now comes “Together,” which might not be as radical or grotesque as those two, but feels like another step toward making body horror mainstream.
Directed by Michael Shanks and picked up by Neon for a hefty sum at Sundance, “Together” walks a tightrope between romantic comedy and full-on body horror. It’s not as visionary as the two titles mentioned, but in a summer where quality cinema is hard to find, it’ll do just fine.
“Together” stars real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, long-term partners in the middle of a slow-burn relationship implosion. They haven’t had sex in months, haven’t tied the knot after a decade together, and don’t even like calling each other “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” anymore. They’re in romantic limbo.
Our couple believes a move to the countryside for Millie’s new teaching job will ignite a spark. Tim, whose music career has stalled, tags along. Tensions mount. Fights bubble up. And then, as horror requires, the unthinkable happens. They fall into a mysterious hole while hiking and land in what looks like the ruins of a forgotten church. Tim drinks some strange cave water (bad idea), and that’s when things start to spiral: panic seeps into his psyche when they’re apart, a literal inability to separate when they touch — their bodies begin to, quite literally, stick together.
It’s as original and horrific as it sounds, but “Together” never loses its sense of humor. There are moments that walk right up to the edge of disturbing, only to cut away at just the right time for a laugh. Unlike, Ducournau and Fargeat’s films, Shanks genuinely likes his characters.
Brie and Franco’s real-life chemistry is the glue that holds it all together — no pun intended. There’s an honesty to their performance that’s hard to fake. There’s one standout scene — I won’t spoil too much — where spur-of-the-moment sex turns into an icky nightmare.
The effects aren’t on the level of “The Thing or “The Substance,” the budget couldn’t have been more than $7M or $8M, but they get the job done. Shanks blends practical and CGI elements in a way that never calls too much attention to itself.
With that said, “Together” doesn’t exactly reinvent body horror. It just takes advantage of a hip genre movement that’s now finally gaining traction in the mainstream. The central metaphor — “love is consuming, literally” — is about as subtle as a hammer to the head. The movie tells you what it’s about almost immediately and rarely deviates from that path. There’s a faint air of obviousness to the whole thing that keeps it from reaching next level. It’s clever, sure, but not groundbreaking.
And yet, I had a great time watching it. You probably will too, as long as you know what you’re in for. Watch it with a large audience, or for more awkward viewing, alone with your partner. The posters, the trailers — they tell you exactly what kind of ride this is.
Body horror isn’t just for the fringes anymore. It’s crawling its way into the multiplex, dragging romantic comedies and relationship metaphors along with it. In a summer packed with forgettable studio fare and few true American standouts, this is one film that actually deserves your attention.