Reviews
‘Together’ Review: Starts Strong, But Loses Steam by Its Final Act
Together is a film that made me resent a relationship I’m not even in. It really is that effective. Director Michael Shanks debut feature is one of the most entertainingly uncomfortable explorations of a failing relationship we’ve gotten in a horror film in years. Together just nearly reaches Possession levels of greatness as far as romantic horror goes– but it falls shy of delivering a soul crushing closer like its spiritual sibling.
Get Ready to Hate Love Again With Together
What Possession dives into is a much more aggressive and cutting dissolution of a relationship. Andrzej Żuławski’s magnum opus, inspired by his own divorce, is a couple going at each other with everything. Cleavers, sharp glass, boxcutters, anything to try and hurt each other quickly. Together is instead the story of two animals who are locked together, teeth gnashing and claws scratching at each other, insisting all the way down that no one is getting hurt. There’s an air of crushing codependency that is certainly more passive aggressive, but still painful to see.
The film follows Milly (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco), a struggling couple taking the plunge into the next phase of their relationship: moving into a new house together. Milly is a schoolteacher looking for a change of pace, and Tim is a musician trying to make his rockstar dreams come true. Things only get worse after a going-away party highlights the cracks in their relationship. The two move out to the countryside, where a series of strange events end up drawing them closer together. Not just emotionally or mentally— they are physically being dragged closer and closer together by an unseen force.
Nobody Does a Dying Relationship Better Than Alison Brie and Dave Franco
As a real-life married couple and two of the most charming actors in Hollywood, Brie and Franco expectedly have a chemistry here that can only be described as disgustingly good. Despite the cliché setup of their relationship (he’s the fun one, she has to be the responsible one, conflict ensues), the magnetism in their performances is undeniable. They are naturally pithy beyond belief, bouncing back and forth with attitudes of resentment and genuine affection, directed both inward at themselves and outward at each other.
There are moments of conversation between the two in the film that reek of something real. Brie mentioned in Fangoria that you couldn’t make this film with a non-married couple, and I’m hard-pressed to agree; you need actors who understand each other intimately to achieve results like these. You become an unwitting and unsure third wheel to a couple that both love and hate each other. They’re unable to admit it, and the struggle between them doesn’t let up at all.
One moment in particular involving the intrepid couple meeting their new neighbor was so awkward, so convincingly cringe inducing, it evoked a physical response; the best comparison I could make is a crochet hook working its way up inside my body. The tension here between them pulls on muscle and sinew. When Together hits those dramatic beats of the two arguing and saying what they feel, it really, really hits.
Unbelievable Effects and Aesthetics Will Pull You in Close
That drama is of course accentuated by the big body horror the film’s premise pays off on. The invisible force pulling the two closer results in physical stunts that are mind-bogglingly well executed and look exceptionally painful. When they are brought cheek to cheek by the pull, every single touch, every bit of skin-to-skin counts. Contact between the two will invariably leave you wondering if there is any chance for them to pull away.
The movie doesn’t pull many punches when it comes to that contact going horribly wrong. The digital effects on display are surprisingly the highlight of the film, with lots of nightmare fuel thanks to the CGI of the film showing you just how nasty melding meat can be. I would even go as far to say it ends up outshining the films’ practical work that it’s layered on.
The general atmosphere of the film is impeccable as well, with a varied but always effective set design and lighting. Any scene here that takes place in their bedroom stabs at you with an unsafe feeling, setting the tone early on with what I would say is Together’s most effective scare. The same can be said of the cave where the film’s big inciting incident happens; the dark, muddy pit gets under your nails just looking at it too long, and the big scares it offers crash down on you like a hammer to the head.
What Should Be the Best Horror of the Year…Hindered by a Third Act Tonal Shift
Despite the heaps of praise I have to toss onto Together for its beginning and middle, its feet of clay are obvious: it has a little more dark humor than it knows what to do with by its ending, and it ends up spilling it all over an ending that could have been really, truly devastating.
There’s a comparison to be made somewhere in here to Brian Yuzna’s Society, but whatever it is feels lazy. The similarities are, quite literally, skin deep, mostly stemming from the body horror parallels. Society was heavy with its humor, but that’s the rub: Society doesn’t ever get you sucked into the characters. It’s ultimately mostly spectacle and bizarre humor, and doesn’t make you feel like it’s undercut by its jokes.
But Together does suffer from that. It makes you want to see the big collision course ending it promises, the thirty-car pileup it dangles over you. But then it delivers an ending that doesn’t ever actually crash into you. The laughs Together renders are pale in comparison to the genuinely agonizing moments of discomfort it sparks. From the sandpaper friction between its characters in the film’s first two acts closes with a finale that is funny and even sweet at points. But in its levity, it left me ever so slightly underwhelmed.
Is Together actually the “perfect date night movie” it marketed itself to be? I believed it at first, but whatever it ends off as is unfortunately weaker than what it began as. Together crafts an incredible cinematic experience, starting with the strongest first two acts in a horror movie this year. It’s worth seeing in theaters just for that. But what it closes on is only a mildly satisfying conclusion, one that betrays the stinging nature of its emotional core.
The act of cutting and stitching can grant new life to a long dead prospect, or it can unleash a monster. Dr. Frankenstein understood the stakes, as does any filmmaker aiming to salvage the unsalvageable. The X-Files creator Chris Carter hopes for a celebratory resurrection – or at least the chance to right some cinematic wrongs – with a recut of his 2008 movie, The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Hulu dropped this new version on August 14 under the appropriately cobbled-together title, The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn. Carter insists it’s the edgy cut he’d always envisioned, untainted by notes from studio executives who wanted a sanitized PG-13 summer blockbuster.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe Gets a New Cut
If you’re not a die-hard X-phile, you could be excused for not even remembering the 2008 version of I Want to Believe. The box office bomb was released six years after the original show’s divisive series ending, in which Mulder and Scully depart from their X-Files post and become fugitives hunted by the FBI. Despite the open-ended nature of the TV finale, I Want to Believe was touted before its initial release as a Mulder-Scully reunion that would serve as a one-off case: the film would contain no references to the show’s ongoing mythology, which involved a convoluted alien conspiracy. This approach was welcomed by many fans who admired the scope and style of the first X-Files feature film, 1998’s Fight the Future, but longed to see a cinematic version of the show’s scary standalone tales like “Beyond the Sea” or “Home.”
Why the Original I Want to Believe Failed
Alas, the 2008 film is a plodding mess. Co-written (with Frank Spotnitz) and directed by Carter, the movie sees Mulder (David Duchovny, in all his deadpan glory) and Scully (Gillian Anderson, with all her understated power) co-habitating and keeping a low profile. Despite their fugitive status, the FBI enlists their help to find a missing agent. “All is forgiven,” the characters note, before it’s back to monster-chasing business as usual. Their only lead: Father Joe (Billy Connolly), a convicted pedophile priest who claims to have psychic visions. Scully’s outrage at his involvement leads her to a crisis of faith, while Mulder (and eventually the movie itself) has the stone-faced gall to encourage patience and sympathy for the sex offender. His visions eventually lead the duo to a Russian organ transporter running medical experiments to stitch together a new body for his ailing husband.
I Want to Believe Struggled as a Horror Movie
Even if I Want to Believe were a pristine thriller in the vein of Seven or Insomnia, its dour subject matter would still have sullied its chances against the competition: in the summer of 2008, the box office was dominated by crowd-pleasing juggernauts like Iron Man and The Dark Knight. But the movie is far from pristine. Its leaden pace makes it a chore for fans and newbies to withstand. Horror-wise, it lacks any monster-movie iconography or moments of unbearable dread. We’re a far cry from anything approaching the icky reveal of the sewer-dwelling Flukeman or the shiver-inducing antics of Satanic substitute teacher Miss Paddock.
I Want to Believe is devoid of the storytelling prowess, philosophical grit, stylistic innovation, and mordant humor that the show exuded at its peak. To top it all off, Carter populates the movie with bizarre directorial choices, including a moment in which Mulder gazes upon a framed photo of George W. Bush as the X-Files theme plays in the background, apropos of nothing. With its tonal muddle and meandering script, the movie was enough to make even the most dedicated fans question their belief in the franchise.
Chris Carter Returns to The X-Files
From 2016 to 2018, Carter revived the show for two seasons, which further served to frustrate longtime fans and newcomers with clunky creative choices. Since then, The X-Files has shown few promising signs of life, but it’s been awakened from the grave with recent news that Ryan Coogler, director of Sinners, is developing a reboot series. It appears that Carter has leveraged the newfound interest in the franchise to make this R-rated director’s cut a reality. But despite the writer-director’s claims that it’s gorier than the theatrical version, bloodthirsty horror fans are likely to shrug. The most notable additions of “gore” include a few new shots of dismembered body parts and headless corpses. These images feel more narratively functional than anything, dramatizing the “modern day Frankenstein” plot instead of just alluding to it in reams of expository dialogue.
How Vrach Frankenshteyn Improves the 2008 Movie
Crucially, though, the film feels tighter. It’s 7 minutes shorter than the original cut, and scenes are now edited at a more staccato, thriller-like pace. Much of what’s missing involves tender character moments between Mulder and Scully. Two of their smooches have been nixed, along with half of a scene that involves late-night cuddling between the paranormal-fixated paramours. References to the characters’ backstory have also gotten the chop, including nods to Mulder’s long-lost sister and Scully’s son she gave up for adoption. Mercifully, this new edit streamlines a tedious subplot involving a young boy whose dire illness Scully goes to great lengths to treat.
Mulder and Scully Remain the Film’s Greatest Strength
The slashing of these character-centric moments might sound ill-advised or even sacrilege to fans who believed Mulder and Scully’s potent onscreen chemistry was the only redeemable element from the theatrical cut. Surprisingly, it all works. Duchovny and Anderson do commendable work in conveying the pathos of all the heartache the duo has endured – their shared glances do more heavy-lifting than any of Carter and Spotnitz’s ham-fisted dialogue.
The X-Files Recut Still Has Major Problems
Still, all the recutting in the world can’t save the film from its inherent design flaws. Mulder and Scully are apart for far too long. Scully’s subplot with her young patient is a snooze, since it keeps her away from the X-File at hand. And that X-File is generic at best, homophobic at worst. The so-called “modern Frankenstein” wants to build a new body for his husband, whose connection to Father Joe plays into eyeroll-y stereotypes around trauma victims and queer people. In both 2008 and 2026, it all feels like something that would land on the reject pile in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit writers’ room.
Is Vrach Frankenshteyn Worth Watching?
While the original I Want to Believe is all but unwatchable, Vrach Frankenshteyn feels more like perfectly serviceable streaming fare. With Coogler’s much-anticipated reboot, many curious genre fans are checking out the show for the first time, working their way through all eleven seasons. If these newcomers wish to include I Want to Believe and the revival seasons in their binge-a-thon for sheer completists’ sake, they’d be well-advised to watch Vrach Frankenshteyn instead of the original: it’s a re-animated cinematic corpse that isn’t quite as beautiful as the Bride of Frankenstein, but it’s not quite dead-on-arrival either. If nothing else, at least it leaves that inexplicable George-W.-Bush-photo moment on the cutting room floor.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street has only committed one crime: premiering this late into the summer movie slate. Hot off the heels of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, one can only hope Oak Street won’t be lost in the noise of August’s bigger releases. Because those who go to see it will have the pleasure of witnessing one of the few movies this year to actually capture the feeling of those classic Hollywood blockbusters that made Steven Spielberg a household name. And indeed, it’s the blockbuster we’ve been waiting for.
What Is The End of Oak Street About?
The End of Oak Street follows the Platt family: mother Denise (Anne Hathaway), father Greg (Ewan McGregor), and kids Audrey and Brian (Maisy Stella, Christian Convery). Don’t forget their beloved dog, Starbuck (played by newcomer Brisket). Though they blend into their suburban confines as a typical family, turmoil bubbles as Denise and Greg’s strained marriage begins to take a toll on their children.
But soon, an even bigger problem begins to plague Oak Street. Mysterious flashes of light and sound that explode in the night, the largest of which culminates in the entire neighborhood being transported through time and space: from 1982 to the prehistoric era. As dinosaurs and other megafauna wreak havoc, hunting down the unprepared humans brought to their time, the Platt family struggles to figure out how they’ll stay alive and if they’ll even be able to find a way back home.
David Robert Mitchell’s Writing and Directing Make for A Certified Home Run
For those who have been starved for a truly great big-budget dinosaur film given the slow death of the Jurassic Park franchise, you really can’t ask for more than this. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell, the mind behind It Follows and Beneath the Silver Lake, has returned to mix sincere family-drama with a thrilling science fiction survival film. Oak Street blends a lot of heart into its gloomier aspects, at turns funny, dark, charming, and frightening. It runs the emotional gamut and keeps you pinned to your seat as Mitchell constructs a rich interior world for the Platt family that is grounded against the fantastic situation they’re thrust into.
They’re not revolutionary characters, not by a long shot. An emotionally distant father and a mother looking for purpose beyond a suffocating home life, rebellious kids who are impulsive and scared, it’s nothing new. The script writing isn’t bombastically clever. But it is incredibly compelling thanks to the naturalistic dialogue and on-screen chemistry between the four actors. The realistic struggles of the family, driven by phenomenal performances from Hathaway and McGregor first and foremost, balance against the more thrilling elements of the film and keep it from tipping over into mere spectacle.
80’s Suburbia Meets Cretaceous Terror in The End of Oak Street
When it zooms out from the family dilemma to indulge in that spectacle, though, it’s a visual feast and a half. Mitchell crafts an aesthetically luscious setting for the drama to take place in by melding 80’s suburbia with Cretaceous jungles. The blend of modern and primeval elements makes for a deadly and breathtaking environment, constructed with some incredible production design and wonderful digital effects.
Those effects never get old as we see the world beyond the block, and the same can be said for its numerous monstrous reptiles that populate it. Each new one the film pits the family against is more dangerous than the last, and they all look phenomenal. They have genuine weight and impact on screen, and if you even had to ask how, of course it’s Industrial Light & Magic doing their strongest cinema sorcery yet again.
Mitchell and Gioulakis Are On Their Photography A-Game
Mitchell and returning cinematographer Michael Gioulakis weave the camera through the neighborhood in a slick fashion, moving through buildings and yards deftly. They block every chase sequence and dinosaur encounter with immense style, resulting in some especially creative sequences. The locations feel purposeful, and the way the camera swoops and dives around is adventurous and legitimately energized. The dynamic camera work pairs with editing that’s snappy and perfectly paced, leaving just enough room to breathe between its exhilarating moments of prehistoric peril.
The End of Oak Street Is a Must-Watch Blockbuster
By its final scenes, Oak Street cements itself as a new favorite of the year. Big stars bringing bigger and more heartfelt performances, big budget effects that actually manage to wow you over and over, and a big entertainment value that reminds you of how even the simplest stories can generate a feeling of true adventure. The End of Oak Street is endlessly impressive and will revitalize even the most fatigued theatergoers this year.
