13 Nights of Shocktober: Together

by A.J. 

Night 3: Body Horror Night

"What awaits is the ultimate intimacy in divine flesh."

Together

2025 was a very good year for horror with the two standouts being without a doubt Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Zach Cregger's Weapons both of which were box office hits, pop culture phenomena, earned critical acclaim, and even won Academy Awards. Lost in the shuffle between these horror juggernauts was the intriguing body horror movie Together. While it did not exactly go under the radar, it did not get the attention I felt it deserved. Now that it is available on DVD/Blu-ray and currently streaming (on Hulu), this Shocktober is your opportunity to have a squirm-inducing but emotionally provoking experience.

Real life couple Allison Brie and Dave Franco play Mille and Tim, a long-committed but still unmarried couple who move from their trendy city life to a secluded house in the country for Millie’s new teaching job. Their farewell party is marred by Tim’s awkward response to Millie’s surprise marriage proposal. Separately, their friends express reservations about their move and their relationship in general. While exploring hiking trails they fall into a cavern and end up drinking water from a natural well. Soon after they return home, they become physically drawn to each other, like magnets, with their body parts becoming stuck together.

First time feature writer-director Michael Shanks is not shy about his influences, especially John Carpenter's The Thing and Japanese Horror movies, like Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure. Thankfully, he, unlike many filmmakers across genres today, takes only inspiration from these other films and filmmakers without drawing attention to his influences and references. Though Shanks did not mention David Cronenberg or Clive Barker as influences, there is a strong case for their work being an indirect influence. Shanks makes great use of the overhead, or God's-eye view, shot which adds a subtle, almost subliminal, off kilter feeling to those scenes specifically as well as to the movie as a whole. Shanks also plays with audience expectations, especially horror audience expectations, particularly in the scene where Millie uses a power saw to separate their now attached forearms. Tension builds as Millie and Tim realize this is somehow their best option. Just before the sawblade touches their skin Millie stops suddenly to point out that Tim was right about their bodies acting like magnets. It is a nice comic beat that acts as a mild release before the tension swells again.

Other scenes do not shy away from the body horror. Tim and Millie stuck in a compromising position in a public bathroom stall is graphic and very painful to watch. Another exploration of the cavern reveals what can only be described as “a creature” that is as disturbing as it is impressive; it’s the kind of thing you want to look away from but cannot. There is a fair amount of quality CGI effects, but also practical effects are used for great squirm inducing effect. Likewise, the sound of crunching bones does perhaps even more than the imagery to create the horror.

Of course, what pushes the special effects beyond shock value to being meaningful are Brie and Franco’s performances. It is not necessarily a given that a real-life couple will do well at playing a couple on screen. Thankfully Brie and Franco are very good for their respective roles. Tim and Millie have issues with themselves and with each other, but they have a functional relationship. Whether they are co-dependent or not, and whether that is necessarily a bad thing or not will depend on the viewer. This is an effective body horror movie because it is not a gross out movie. The horror is a manifestation of the fears and anxieties of the characters, which are relatable fears of many in relationships.