Neon has become quite a big name in the horror genre as of late. Just this year they had success with Presence and The Monkey. Later this year are even more highly anticipated movies like Keeper and Shelby Oaks. Neon's most recent success is Together, starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco.
Together follows a troubled couple, Millie and Tim who decide to make a big change and move to a different city and start fresh. Their new house is secluded and surrounded by dense woods. Trying to embrace and adjust to their new surroundings they decide to go for a hike. While trying to follow a trail they get lost and fall into a mysterious cave that was once a church. The cave is anything but ordinary and has a giant pool of water that was better left untouched.
Once Millie and Tim get out of the cave the two of them are inexplicably drawn to one another. Tim can't seem to go more than five minutes without Millie. As time goes on he begins to realize just how wrong their "connection" is and that they may not be the first couple to experience this seemingly magnetic pull.
Body horror is a sub genre that has recently come back in style. Movies like The Substance kick started the phenomenon once again and Together follows in its footsteps. Together doesn't shy away from the grotesque and leans into abnormal body transformations. There were a few scenes that really got under the skin (literally) as Brie and Franco really sell the pain and terror of what merging bodies would be like.
The practical and CGI effects were done pretty well in my opinion, I had one issue and it was with the end scene and the way certain effects looked. I think the ending would've been more impactful if the audience didn't see the full process but just the small teases rather.
My other issue is with the run time. Together sits at an hour and 42 minutes, which is just a little too short. The story would've benefitted from a longer run time even if it was just 20 minutes. The characters could've been flushed out more and the body transformations could've been explained a little bit better.
Apart from these minor issues I thoroughly enjoyed Together. I thought that the premise was interesting and unique enough to make a satisfying horror movie. What little jump scares appeared in the movie were done well and did not feel cheap to me. The body horror is the right amount of gross and squirm inducing, thanks to the performance of Brie and Franco.
I would say that Together is the perfect date night movie and should be enjoyed with your other half (wink wink). Together deserves its flowers and is quickly becoming one of my favorite horror movies from this year. Neon is really moving up there in the horror world and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Together is now playing in theaters.