Neon has released the official trailer for Together, a body horror drama starring real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco. The film marks the directorial debut of Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks and is scheduled for theatrical release on July 30. The trailer arrives months after the film’s midnight premiere at Sundance, where it was acquired by Neon in a global deal reportedly valued at $17 million.
The film centers on Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie), a couple who have been together for years and are attempting a reset by leaving their former life behind. They move to the countryside, bringing only each other into a new and unfamiliar environment. While the decision is meant to rekindle stability, unresolved tension simmers beneath the surface. As emotional distance grows, a mysterious force begins to affect them physically, triggering a disturbing process that binds them together in ways neither understands or controls.
In the official synopsis released by Neon, Tim and Millie are described as being at a “crossroads,” their decision to isolate from familiar routines and relationships serving as a catalyst for events that reshape both their bodies and their connection. The trailer’s tone transitions from therapeutic introspection to psychological suspense and eventually body horror, as their physical forms begin to merge. This visual metaphor is presented alongside a cover of The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” used to contrast romantic expectations with the film’s unraveling narrative.
Brie’s character, Millie, is seen in an early session with a therapist played by Damon Herriman. She admits to feelings of emotional disconnection since the move. The therapist responds by offering reassurance, suggesting that the couple may be experiencing harmony rather than drift. The moment underscores a pattern of misinterpretation that threads through the film: surface calm masking deeper breakdowns, affection transforming into possession, connection curdling into dependence.
Tim and Millie’s transformation begins with small disturbances and subtle signs of decay, gradually giving way to grotesque alterations. Their physical merger is rendered as an unstoppable, invasive process, reflecting the psychological themes of control, identity, and emotional surrender. The visual presentation draws heavily from practical effects and surreal imagery, deviating from clean narrative arcs in favor of mounting discomfort.
Together stands apart from previous collaborations between Franco and Brie. While the couple worked together on The Rental (a contained horror-thriller) and Somebody I Used to Know (a romantic drama), this new project pushes their on-screen dynamic into more graphic territory. Franco described the film as “the most full-on thing we’ve ever done together,” adding that they remain selective about working jointly to avoid overexposure. Here, their casting as a couple deepens the discomfort, with their real-life intimacy amplifying the unease created by the characters’ loss of autonomy.
Brie and Franco also serve as producers alongside Mike Cowap, Andrew Mittman, Erik Feig, Julia Hammer, Tim Headington, and Max Silva. The team supported Shanks’ transition from digital short-form storytelling to full-length narrative cinema. Known in Australia for directing music videos, online series, and digital effects-driven shorts, Shanks brings a visual style shaped by genre experimentation and dark comedy. This marks his first feature-length directorial credit, and the film’s reception at Sundance positioned him as a filmmaker willing to take stylistic risks.
Neon’s acquisition of Together reflects a continued strategy to distribute films that combine genre aesthetics with character-driven narratives. The company has previously brought international and independent films into mainstream conversation through carefully targeted theatrical rollouts. By placing Together in a late summer release slot, Neon signals confidence in the film’s ability to attract both horror enthusiasts and audiences drawn to psychological drama.
Production on Together was shaped by practical constraints and creative intent. Much of the filming took place in a rural setting designed to feel isolated without being entirely disconnected from reality. This ambiguous geography reinforces the film’s uncertain emotional tone. The body horror effects were achieved using a blend of practical makeup, prosthetics, and minimal digital enhancement, with an emphasis on slow, visible progression. Rather than focusing on shock alone, the film builds tension through intimacy, claustrophobic framing, and an escalating sense of bodily betrayal.
The script, also written by Shanks, avoids straightforward exposition in favor of elliptical dialogue and character-driven tension. Conversations between Tim and Millie alternate between attempts at reconciliation and confusion about their experiences. Their inability to fully understand what is happening mirrors their earlier failure to communicate in less extreme conditions. The unnatural force affecting them is never given a clear origin or explanation. Instead, it functions as a physical manifestation of relational collapse.
The Sundance screening of Together placed it within the Midnight program, a section known for featuring unconventional and high-energy titles. Audience reactions praised the film’s tonal control and disturbing visuals. Industry response was immediate, with Neon closing a deal that included global distribution rights. While the film currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, that metric is based on a limited pool of early reviews.
Beyond its horror elements, Together fits within a wave of relationship-centered genre films that use external transformation to comment on internal conflict. The use of body horror to explore intimacy, co-dependence, and emotional erosion has gained renewed attention in recent years, with filmmakers turning to physical distortion as a metaphor for psychological strain. In Together, that metaphor becomes literal, as shared space becomes shared tissue, and private friction takes on a visible, irreversible form.
Damon Herriman’s presence adds another layer to the narrative. His role as a well-meaning but ineffectual therapist underscores a recurring theme: the inadequacy of language when bodies and emotions no longer follow recognizable patterns. His character offers traditional advice meant to comfort, which becomes irrelevant in the face of the couple’s growing physical and psychological crisis.
The supporting cast remains minimal, placing nearly all the dramatic weight on Brie and Franco. This focus intensifies the experience, as there are few outside perspectives to validate or contradict what the couple is going through. Their isolation becomes both a setting and a structural device, reinforcing the film’s mood and its descent into intimacy distorted beyond recognition.
Neon’s promotional materials have framed Together as a relationship story amplified through horror, but early footage suggests the film resists tidy genre labels. The blend of personal tension, surreal transformation, and discomfort-driven humor aligns with a specific type of independent filmmaking that favors tension over explanation and style over certainty.
Shanks’ direction indicates a preference for visual suggestion rather than explicit storytelling. Settings are sparse, lighting is naturalistic, and sound design plays a key role in building unease. The progression of the couple’s fusion—both metaphorical and physical—is tracked less through action than through shifts in posture, gaze, and movement. The slow erasure of bodily boundaries becomes a stand-in for emotional collapse.
As Together approaches its theatrical release, Neon has positioned it within a lineup that includes Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, arriving June 6, and Osgood Perkins’ Keeper, set for October 3. Between these releases, Together serves as the distributor’s summer entry into genre territory, combining relationship drama with escalating physical horror.
