While Tim and Millie deal with numerous insecurities and issues, they decide to move to the countryside, where they are confronted with an unnatural force.
A provocative horror with deeper meanings. Feature debut for writer/director Michael Shanks, who gets the support of Dave Franco (Tim) and Alison Brie (Millie), who also wear the producers’ hats. Since we are at it, Franco and Brie have done a brilliant job behind and in front of the camera. They are a real-life married couple, and the problems they portray reflect the real-life issues faced by modern couples. The awkwardness they cause for most of the film builds the foundation for the horror that follows.
While Plato’s story has been taken out of context, its visualisation, paired with issues such as distance, intimacy, and codependency, offers incredible audiovisual value to the genre that is flourishing this year. Horror comes from life and, when done right, adds all the right ingredients to emphasise the message it wants to convey, either directly or allegorically. The brilliance of cinema is that you can take a theme like “one needs the other” and make a film such as Together or turn it into The Substance (2024): https://kaygazpro.com/the-substance-2024/.
There are many questions left unanswered. How was the cult formed? What god(s) did they believe in? How far back does it go? What was wrong with Tim’s mum? But… in the end, you may realise that you do not need these answers. You may not even need to know what the point of the (actual) funny lines was when horror was escalating. What you will realise, though, is that Shanks’ narrative works, and it aims to visually shock you and mentally challenge you.
When in a relationship, we act as one, but do we become one? I hope you enjoy it.
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives that suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
