‘Together’ Review – Codependency Horror Comedy Gets Lovecraftian [Sundance]

Real-life spouses Alison Brie and Dave Franco star as a stagnating couple, Millie and Tim, who find themselves dealing with codependency issues of the Lovecraftian kind in writer/director Michael Shanks’ feature debut Together. Its unique blend of awkward romantic dramedy and cosmic body horror yields no shortage of crowd-pleasing moments and horror freakouts that left the rowdy Sundance audience laughing and screaming in equal measure. Shanks’s debut keeps the horror simple and unsubtle as it ramps up the insanity. 

The only ones who don’t seem to notice that Tim and Millie’s relationship, now ten years deep, may be on its last legs are the couple themselves. As they embark on a new life in the suburbs for Millie’s career, hampering Tim’s long-gestating but floundering musical aspirations, telltale signs of low simmering resentment and unresolved turmoil color nearly every interaction. Yet they also seem unwilling to confront the notion that they’re better off apart. The pair will have no choice but to confront their issues head-on when a hike in the woods goes awry, leaving them trapped in a mysterious cave. They quickly find that they’re irresistibly drawn together, mostly literally, and things will only continue to get alarmingly weirder.

Shanks demonstrates an uncanny talent for building momentum with his directorial debut. There’s a lean efficiency to the storytelling that lets the horror ramp up at a steady, rapid clip. Together peppers in a few early and potent nightmare sequences to get the adrenaline pumping, but they also double as insight into Tim’s psychological state and history. While that propulsive pacing heightens the humor and fun, it also removes any subtlety with its foreshadowing and symbolism. An early scene sees Tim discovering a rat king from a light fixture, a blatant symbolism of the difficulties of living together. The clues are everywhere, all but drawing a clear map straight to the finish line.

Though the audience can piece things together quickly, Tim and Millie are too caught up in their romantic turbulence to notice. At least, not until their bodies betray them in inventive and gnarly ways. Shanks puts his leads through the physical wringer for our benefit; the magic of Together is watching the comedic synchronicity of Brie and Franco as they swing for the fences with their physical performances. Their real-life chemistry and history lend complexity and a lived-in quality to Tim and Millie, where the lean script simply can’t. That foundation of trust lets the couple go wild with the alarming, outrageous things Together asks of them, and Brie and Franco go for broke for our great amusement.

Where Together stumbles is in its explanation of what’s happening. Shanks rushes through and loosely sets up something more Lovecraftian, yielding more than a few moments that would make Brian Yuzna proud, but it’s glossed over in favor of the central codependency metaphor. The lore is there; it’s just not fleshed out enough. In other words, Together is the type of wild ride that requires a few logic leaps or narrative shrugs so it can continue whisking you along at warped, cosmic speed. Right up to the film’s final punchline, which feels a bit too silly for the witty humor that preceded it.

Even still, it’s an inventive and clever exploration of a relationship at a crossroads, one that’s grown complacent and codependent. Framing a romantic dramedy, complete with cringe humor and a Spice Girls needle drop, through a Lovecraftian body horror lens yields more than enough fun to forgive its underserved elements. It’s the type of zany crowd-pleaser that delivers on its premise with an unhinged sense of humor and heart.

Together premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Release info TBD.

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