Horror is presently experiencing a massive boom on the big screen, and while one of the most delightful aspects of the success is that it hasn’t been defined by any single subgenre, there is no question that body horror is having a special moment. One of the most beloved and talked about movies of all of 2024 was Caroline Fargeat’s incredible, sexy and totally disgusting The Substance, and audiences were shocked by what they witnessed earlier this summer in Danny and Michael Philippou’s Bring Her Back. It’s a trend that is continuing in excellent fashion this week with the release of Together starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco – and writer/director Michael Shanks has been delighted to see the obvious hunger demonstrated by sick puppy cinephiles.
Together made its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, but the filmmaker got to see The Substance with a collection of his colleagues while the work was still being finished, and it certainly made an impression. When I spoke with Shanks last week during the Los Angeles press day for his new 2025 movie, I asked him about the love for body horror that has been getting a spotlight since the release of the Demi Moore/Margaret Qualley film late last year, and he offered a candid response to the Oscar-winner:
