Stephen King, famously or maybe notoriously, is pretty vocal when it comes to his opinions on horror films.
He generally dislikes the Stanley Kubrick adaptation of his own work, The Shining, telling David Letterman in 1980, “There are other times when I feel as though I’d given Stanley Kubrick a live grenade, and he heroically threw his body on it.”
He called Maximum Overdrive, a movie he himself directed, a “moron movie” (via Gainsville Sun).
So if he likes a movie, cinema lovers tend to take notice, which is what happened when he recently tweeted out a reaction to a film that just came out.
Together is the feature debut from writer/director Michael Shanks. Millie (Alison Brie) is a new teacher, and Tim (Dave Franco) is a struggling musician whose relationship hits a rough patch when they move from the city to a rural community for a fresh start. Things go sideways when they explore a mysterious cave in the woods, and Tim makes the classic horror movie mistake of drinking some stagnant water. What follows is an exploration of the horrors of codependency. (The pair also produce, and also happen to be married in real life.)
I saw and enjoyed this one at Sundance this year, and was happy when it sold to Neon for wide release. But what did King think?
He posted on X (formerly known as Twitter):
X
Dave Franco and Alison Brie are great—and brave—in Together. Horror movies work when you care about the people. This one works.
Stephen King’s endorsement of Together highlights a fundamental truth that many filmmakers forget. The horror works better if we’re emotionally invested in the characters experiencing it.
King mentions Franco and Brie being “brave,” which might be about their willingness to get literally stuck together with prosthetics. It might also be about their commitment to a slightly ridiculous premise (even though that’s part of what makes horror filmmaking so fun).
The couple’s real-life relationship does add a slightly meta nature to a viewing of the film and will probably color your reaction if you know about it. So King might be talking about caring about your crew, and your creative partner, who might also be your real-life partner.
But I think caring for your characters is the important takeaway.
So many horror films feel hollow because the scares are given the focus instead. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good jumpscare or a horrifying monster. But fear is fundamentally emotional. If we don’t care whether your characters survive, then all the rest becomes white noise.
What makes Together work so well is that Shanks understands his theme and builds the characters’ lives around that theme. Before Tim and Millie’s relationship starts twisting in horrifying ways, we see them as a couple struggling with real problems.
So, while it can be fun to jump right into your next horror screenplay, remember the importance of fundamentals first. Because, as King says, your story will work better when we care about the people experiencing it.
