Just the Ticket #206: Together

ArticlebySeanWilkinson,a.k.a.TheTicketmaster.

I promise not to do the entire review like that (not that the blog is doing that well right now anyway, so who knows if it would make a difference...).

Today, I'm talking about a movie that I knew and liked the basic idea of from the trailer, but really only committed myself to reviewing because of the subject matter and it being the Month Of Love right now.

Written and directed by Michael Shanks as his feature-length debut (he did three short films before this), 2025's Together (not to be confused with the 2021 COVID drama, the 2015 TV series, the Swedish dramedy from 2000, the 1971 mockumentary, or the 2023 romantic comedy Better Half that Shanks and this movie's star/producer couple allegedly plagiarized) is a body horror drama distributed by NEON (who also brought us Longlegs, so that's a good sign of my sarcasm), produced by enough companies to justifiably earn it an opening logo sin (also a good sign, just like my sarcasm), and starring real life couple Dave Franco (the Now You See Me trilogy) and Alison Brie (Bojack Horseman) as new couple Tim and Millie, who are so passive-aggressive and toxic that the only reason you wouldn't want to punch them in the face is a rational fear of being poisoned by their pungent asshole vibes on contact. Because this is supposed to be a horror movie, the partner-friends who suck at being supportive of one another move to a house in the middle of the woods to start their lives Together. Matters are complicated by Millie's new boss (Justified and House Of Wax's Damon Herriman) being a borderline HR violation and Tim wanting to go way out of town for an important music gig.

But also, if the trailers and the opening scene with the patchwork dog and the fact that Dewey Crowe suggested they go hiking in the woods didn't give away pretty much the entire premise and twist of the movie by being as subtle as a Geodude punching a toxic couple in the face, our lead pair's new home is hiking distance from a very Upside-Down-looking Lovecraftian sinkhole that used to be the church of a Greek-inspired love cult, but now is a reservoir of unknown, water-like liquid that eventually merges two people together in mind and body like potable Potara earrings. And if you didn't figure out almost immediately that the guy with all the exposition who suggests Millie go hiking in the woods is secretly a survivor of the cult, I feel bad for you (unless you're one of the people who are actively making the world an evil place to live; then I strongly suggest you stop at a run-down cabin to ask for help and/or directions, have lots of sex at the nearest abandoned summer camp, dream about Robert Englund, culturally offend the nearest Romani Leprechaun, desecrate every cursed object you can find, and then fall groin-first on the nearest rusty chainsaw made of beartraps, kitchen knives, and machetes, because you deserve everything that will happen to you and more).

There are some cool ideas that get explored (like Tim remotely experiencing the momentum when Millie is driving), the choreography-like character movement in some moments reads like a twisted contemporary dance, and the fusion effects are decently disturbing, but otherwise, the characters are unsympathetic, the plot gives itself away at every turn, and for all of its potential and promise, the ending is a sudden and unremarkably executed, "oh, no; it could happen again!" stinger without a point. The rest is predictable, unpalatable relationship drama and psychological thriller bullshit. If you're into body horror, I'd suggest someThing of more Substance.

D+

Thank you all for sticking with me through this week of conjoined stressors. Still a lot to get ready for next week (chief being to binge both seasons of Tales Of Wedding Rings), but I'm keeping the final two weeks of February (and March as a whole) chill by comparison.

Stay Tuned for that and remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leave a comment at the bottom of this post and any others you have opinions about, help out my ad revenue as you read so I don't have to Kamehameha an imaginary ring when the day comes, and follow me on BlueSky, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my content.

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Ticketmaster,

Out.