Together

Vampire Owl: We, the vampires have been together for an eternity.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that there is more about togetherness in this movie.

Vampire Owl: So, you think that there is not enough of the same among us.

Vampire Bat: Togetherness is not something that can be evaluated.

Vampire Owl: At least the movie is on Amazon Prime Video to be evaluated.

Vampire Bat: I wonder about the kind of supernatural present in that movie.

Vampire Owl: Should I consult the parapsychologist Dr. Frankenstein on the matter?

Vampire Bat: When did Mr. Frankenstein graduate in psychology?

Vampire Owl: He has so many graduations that we will never know all of them.

Vampire Bat: This Frank needs to be reported to Uncle Dracula for his fake degrees.

[Gets a podi masala dosa and three cups of Kodaikanal tea].

What is the movie about? :: A man has been searching for a missing couple with his two dogs. But after the unsuccessful search, he finds the dogs fused together as one. A few days later, Tim Brassington (Dave Franco) and Millie Wilson (Alison Brie), a couple going through an emotional path, and at the same time, latter finds a job of teaching elementary school English. Tim has been trying to make his mark as a musician, but has not been himself since the memories of his dead parents have been haunting him. Millie proposes to Tim at a going away party held by their friends but, he shows some hesitation which makes them further ponder over their relationship. As Millie meets her new co-worker Jamie McCabe (Damon Herriman), he tells them about the interesting walking trails near their home that goes deep into the woods and remains a beautiful view. While hiking through such path, they fall into an underground cave and decide to camp inside for the night due to the rain getting heavier. Tim drinks from a pool of water but Millie does not.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As they wake up on the next morning, Tim and Millie find their legs stuck with each other with some material which looks like glue, but they are able to separate them without much difficulty, and feels that it was some random sticky thing of fungal nature. Tim feels like he is physically and brutally drawn towards Millie, which leads to complicated situations which makes them feel that this is a psychological problem. The doctor that Tim sees also dismisses the incidents as panic attacks and asks him to use some muscle relaxant pills, and reminds him that the place has its charm, but also dangers, as a local couple had also gone missing. Tim looks at the news and also at the social media pages of the couple, and finds out that these particular couple had also visited the same cave, identified by some of the marked bells outside and some signs on walls of the cave. Jamie arrives at their place and welcomes them to the neighborhood, and they have a dinner together.

And what more can happen as the couple seems to be confused in between? :: The couple recounts their experience at the cave, which Jamie explains was a hippie-type church which had some activities which were considered strange for the commonly accepted churches. He adds on that people who got better options moved away to cities with their families, the church was abandoned, and became part of the cave system, as time passed. He adds that this is not a terrifying Satan worshipping cult of anything, and no followers of the same remains there. Even though Millie drops Tim off at the train station for his journey to the city for a musical programme, he experiences another episode of being attracted to her and immediately goes to Millie’s school, much to her surprise, as he gets on to her. This time, she is also attracted to him, but she denies the same, but it the strange attraction would come to her at night too, and the mystery deepens. Can they get out of this as they seem to be getting attached to each other, and this seems to be a problem to which there is no solution?

The defence of Together :: The romantic drama mixed with disturbing body horror is something unusual, and thus provides a fresh feeling that will keep the audience interested. It is nice to see that this becomes a metaphor for interdependent relationships and also signifies the need for togetherness in a relationship rather than keeping on separating each other – as it says in the Holy Bible: “A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24. This seems to be a strange coming together of the same, as at least the same thought process should guide a relationship, as the fusion of ideology will guide them better; something which could often include religious ideology. In this case, everything is shown with that body horror that stays effective, and the fear factor is surely active, and it includes being scared of losing identity. Alison Brie with Dave Franco of Now You See Me and Nerve do manage to bring some real chemistry, as they are also real-life couple, despite the former at times looking much older. Their moments together are very good with a certain amount of love which feels apart, but so much longing to be together, like the body horror itself calls for. Disturbing transformations and dark humour remain effective too.

The claws of flaw :: The movie remains repetitive in parts, and there seems to be moments when nothing much past. There is also a little too much useless time spent in pondering over the past of the main male character when it could have easily gone on with just a small mention of the same, thus making the length of the movie exact as intended. The narrative just goes on the usual path with the couple story while moving towards the fresh twists. The mixture of romance and body horror does not always work the best, and signs can be seen here – some people can even find part of this to be gross, thus justifying its rating in India. Some cringe moments are also present and dialogues get a little too weak at times. The emotional connection could have been also more, as the romantic background is already set. There is also the need for a lot more explanations with this one, as the weird mode keeps on being active. We can see the chance for some people clearly missing out on the idea.

How it finishes :: If you are looking for experimental horror with focus on the body-based terror, this might be the movie for you, as performances and hidden ideas and messages also seem to come in here and there, despite there is nothing too grand about it with moments where the movie just seems like a usual random journey that stays repetitive. Even if togetherness story is your key, this will be your relationship-focused tale with a dark twist, as the darkness would take the whole world to something beyond comprehension. But you are not to look for fast-paced and plot-drive works with this one. But seeing the fusion of the couple, you might not stop feeling that there is the need for togetherness coming from religious scriptures fulfilled right here, whether some subterranean or alien entity is involved in the process. After all, we know that there shall always be too many things that we do not understand, and can stay on the mysterious side; and so we go through this movie, and enjoy the same in moments, with one final shot of togetherness with innovation. Still, the body horror of The Substance remains one of its kind.

Release date: 30th July 2025
Running time: 102 minutes
Directed by: Michael Shanks
Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mia Morrissey, Karl Richmond, Damon Herriman, Jack Kenny, Francesca Waters, Sarah Lang, Aljin Abella, Rob Brown, Charlie Lees, M J Dorning, Ellora Iris, Melanie Beddie, Rom Considine, Nancy Finn, Flynn Wandin, Mark Robinsom, Michael Shanks. Sunny S Walia