‘Together’ trailer: Alison Brie, Dave Franco unravel in horror film
In horror comedy “Together,” Alison Brie (“Mad Men”) and Dave Franco (“Neighbors”) play an unhappy couple bound by a mysterious, supernatural force.
You can learn a lot about a person by watching “Together.”
The gleefully gutsy horror movie (in theaters now) stars real-life married actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a complacent, discontented couple whose bodies start to fuse after a hiking trip gone haywire. The deranged dark comedy has sparked all sorts of reactions from traumatized early audiences.
“Last night, two people came up to us and one of them said: ‘I was sobbing. I want a love like that,’ ” Brie says in a Zoom conversation. “And the other person said, ‘I was horrified!’ ”
Franco, meanwhile, “got a text from my friend saying, ‘I am so glad I’m single,’” he recalls with a grin. “It has something for everyone!”
‘Together’ takes codependency to its ‘craziest conclusions’ with body horror
When the film begins, Tim is still reeling from the disturbing deaths of his parents when Millie asks that the couple relocate to the countryside for a lucrative teaching job. But the move only drives a bigger wedge in their relationship as Millie makes new friends while aspiring rock star Tim sits at home noodling on his guitar.
Further complicating matters: For unknown reasons, their appendages have painfully started to stick together whenever they’re making out, having sex or sleeping next to each other. Although they manage to rip or peel their limbs apart, a magnetic, supernatural force continues to push them closer and closer.
“Together” is the squirmy creation of first-time filmmaker Michael Shanks, who has been with his partner for more than 16 years. Inspired by body horror movies like “The Thing,” he wanted to explore what it means to question your love with a longtime mate and whether you’re still right for each other.
“Once you’re so entwined with somebody, splitting up might genuinely feel like cutting a part of your body off,” Shanks says. “There are all sorts of idioms about ‘sharing a life’ and ‘sticking together’ that it felt like an obvious metaphor.”
Brie, 42, and Franco, 40, wed in 2017 after five years of dating and have collaborated on multiple films, including “The Rental” and “Somebody I Used to Know.” The actors liked how Shanks inverted the relationship dynamic typically seen onscreen, with Millie as the sensible breadwinner while Tim pursues his artistic longings. They also relished how the characters’ deep-seated resentments manifested in such visceral, physical ways.
“When something insane is happening to your body, it’s maybe the most terrifying thing because there’s nowhere to go,” Franco says. “This movie is taking these fears of monogamy and toxic codependency and extrapolating it to its craziest conclusions.”
Adds Brie: “When this couple finally realizes they shouldn’t be together, it’s too late. Now their bodies won’t let them. We’re not being subtle about the codependent metaphor, but it’s fun to watch things that are truly outrageous, and then leave the theater able to have a real conversation about things that might be going on in your life.”
Dave Franco and Alison Brie (quite literally) see eye to eye
“Together” was shot in a marathon 21 days, meaning “we didn’t even have a second to process the insanity of it all,” Franco recalls. Much of the film’s gross-out horror was accomplished through practical effects: A chilling shot of Tim’s stomach rippling, for instance, was achieved by Brie moving her hand under Franco’s shirt. (“It’s a good Easter egg for the IMDb page,” she quips.) And there were almost no visual effects used when Tim and Millie’s eyes touch in a queasy, skin-crawling sequence.
“My eyelashes were in your eyeball,” Brie says. “It was fun, because we could see the reaction from the crew, who were all like, ‘Eww!’ Every single day, we would look at each other like: ‘They’re letting us do this?! We’re shoving hair down Dave’s throat – this is so weird and cool!’ ”
Throughout production, they would typically unwind each night by watching the swoony Netflix romance series “One Day” as they nursed bruises and practiced their lines together. The genial spouses are exceedingly complimentary of each other: Franco praises the “joyful, infectious energy” Brie would bring to the set, and she marvels that she gets “to see some new side of Dave” with every project they do together. The love they have – for each other, as well as the film – is evident in conversation.
“This is embarrassing to admit, but I got a little emotional at the premiere during the scenes where our characters are getting emotional with each other in a sweet way,” Franco says. “I’m not proud of making myself cry, but those are the moments that remind me most of our real-life relationship.” (For her part, Brie says she caught herself squeezing Franco’s hand during the more intense scenes.)
While promoting “Together,” the “toughest question people are asking is: ‘What was the biggest challenge for your relationship? Did you take the movie home with you?’ ” Brie says. “The answer is boring because there was nothing bad about working together. It’s so easy – we want to do it forever.”