Together, directed by Michael Shanks,is in cinemas now.
Married actors Alison Brie (Community) and Dave Franco (Now You See Me) carry their real-life chemistry into the ostensibly happy couple at the centre of this imaginative horror, which riffs cleverly on the romantic ideal of being someone’s “other half”.
As theymove from the big smoke to the country for Millie’s teaching job, unemployed musician Tim knows he loves his girlfriend but fears he’s losing himself. “When I die, I don’t want someone else’s life flashing before my eyes,” he complains after a particularly excruciating public declaration of love.
As the pair anxiously consider their future (in devastatingly realistic dialogue, just one top-notch feature of writer-director Michael Shanks’s terrific screenplay), they take a hike into the woods near their new home, where they tumble into a bizarrely mystical situation that has horrifying consequences.
As Tim and Millie’s arguments worsen, they also become strangely inseparable, as a series of gasp-inducing body-horror moments raise the stakes for their relationship and their lives.
Brie and Franco work together wonderfully on-screen, effortlessly natural as lovers who are at once infatuated and frustrated with each other. Brie’s hard-working Millie is pitch-perfect as she tries to keep job and home-life happy, propping up the self-absorbed Tim, who is mutely traumatised by nightmares.
The film’s smart performances get even better when joined by Millie’s fellow teacher Jamie, played by compelling Aussie character actor Damon Herriman (Nude Tuesday).
Shanks’s story may not feel entirely new – there are shades of The Substance, and the filmmakers are facing a copyright suit for allegedly ripping off the smaller indie film Better Half, which had a similar, albeit comedic, premise.
Thrillers with clever conceits often face the problem of how to find an artful ending, but although Together’s denouement loses its grip narratively, it goes full gross-out to make up for any plot holes and delivers a banger of a finale.
