The idea of two people in a codependent relationship slowly merging into a single entity isn’t exactly subtle, but subtlety isn’t really the point of Together (2025). The feature debut of Australian writer-director Michael Shanks, Together uses body horror as a hyper-literal metaphor for the messiness and quiet tragedy of romantic entanglement taken to grotesque extremes. It’s a B-movie horror oddity with an inventive central idea, an impressively squirm-inducing aesthetic, and a strong emotional core thanks to its tight screenplay and dedicated lead performances from real-life married couple Alison Brie (Community) and Dave Franco (Now You See Me). It also doesn’t quite know how to balance its shifting tones and would have benefited from a more cohesive approach.
Together‘s shortcomings are quite ironic, given what the movie is actually about. The opening is a doozy. Two dogs go wandering into the woods near the remote house where the bulk of the film takes place, sniffing around until they encounter something unknown and unseen. What happens next is mostly left to the imagination, but it’s clear they won’t be returning; at least, not as the same dogs they once were. It’s a wonderfully eerie start, setting the stage for the twisted romantic tale to follow.
Together Lacks Subtlety But Makes Up For it in Originality
Alison Brie and Dave Franco play Millie and Tim, a longtime, but not yet engaged, couple embarking on a big move away from the city. Millie wants to move out permanently to pursue a new teaching job. Yet, Tim isn’t sure what to make of this decision — or much of anything, really. Still grieving the death of his parents and adrift in both his career as a musician and in his relationship, he’s clearly hanging on by a thread.
From the jump, there’s a quiet sense of unease in the way Millie and Tim interact. They don’t truly fight or bicker, though it’s obvious they aren’t as happy or as close as they once were. A handful of early lines spell it out: “Do we love each other or are we just used to each other?” “When I die, I don’t want someone else’s life flashing before my eyes.” These aren’t just thematic musings; they are warning signs of what’s to come. The tension is palpable, even before they accidentally stumble across a strange, slimy cave in the woods while on a hike and wake up the next morning with something very wrong.
Michael Shanks Crafts Surprisingly Effective Scares on a Small Budget
It starts small. Tim becomes increasingly anxious whenever Millie leaves his side. His body physically reacts to her absence. There’s a standout sequence where she leaves for work while he’s in the shower — each turn her car makes pulls Tim in the same direction, dragging him across the bloody floor like a marionette. Then come the night terrors and the body contortions. Tim’s affliction continues to grow more emasculating and increasingly pitiful. He blacks out, stumbles around like a sleepwalker, and is desperate to remain as close to Millie as possible. The infection, or metaphor (depending on how literal you want to get), seems to be trying to bring the two of them “together” as one.
The horror sequences in Together are surprisingly effective. Filmmaker Michael Shanks relies more on clever camera work (provided by excellent cinematographer Germain McMicking, best known for True Detective and 2021’s Mortal Kombat) and sound design than overt gore. The results are deeply unsettling without overindulging in cheap shock value. When the physical transformation reaches a point during a disturbingly imaginative sex scene, it’s equal parts tragic and terrifying — two people so afraid of growing apart that they literally melt into each other. The body horror element may feel tame to genre veterans or those raised on David Cronenberg, but for a relationship drama with horror trappings, it delivers enough ickiness to linger.
Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Real-Life Marriage Gives Together a Meta Edge
One of the movie’s secret weapons is Dave Franco, who turns in a surprisingly vulnerable and haunted performance. One monologue, in particular, about the day he found his parents’ dead bodies, is grimly engaging, serving as both a window into Tim’s psyche and a thematic echo of the creeping death now overtaking him. Alison Brie is excellent, too, navigating Millie’s arc with empathy as her partner rapidly deteriorates, while she only continues to professionally ascend. The fact that the duo is married in real life creates a sharp, meta edge. Their lived-in chemistry, commitment to the off-putting narrative, and even the marketing campaign, which has leaned into their off-screen partnership, all add to the film’s strange appeal.
What doesn’t work quite as well is the humor. Together wants to be a horror movie, a romantic drama, and a quirky, self-aware comedy all at once. However, it is the comedic elements that stumble the hardest. Jokes are peppered throughout the script, but few of them land as intended, often undermining the mood or slowing the pacing rather than providing levity. It’s not a dealbreaker (cracking these kinds of lame quips is how actual couples usually interact, after all), though it does make the film feel slightly confused about how seriously it wants to be taken.
A Genuinely Sweet, Yet Disturbing Ending
The middle stretch of the plot struggles with momentum, stalling the main supernatural mystery before building toward a final act that thankfully widens the scope and deepens the lore. A sequence involving an old VHS tape threatens to veer into eye-roll territory (it’s a classic expositional trope that has become stale by this point). However, the revelations themselves are worthwhile, helping to explain the strange phenomenon without diminishing its thematic power. A rat king discovered early in the story proves to be a perfect foreshadowing device. Even if the movie’s final moments are a little too neat, they manage to pull off a rare feat in horror: a genuinely sweet ending, in its own disturbing way.
It may be uneven in tone and pacing, but Together still stands out thanks to its inspired performances, original concept, and willingness to fully invest in its metaphors. It’s not often you get a horror film that mixes grief, relationship inertia, sexual discomfort, body horror, and emotional co-dependence into one relatively tight 102-minute package. Despite its occasional messiness — and again, the irony of a movie about forced cohesion being structurally disjointed isn’t lost — it ultimately works as a strange, yet sticky meditation on what it means to be extremely close to someone. Maybe too close.
Together hits theaters on July 30!
Release Date: July 30, 2025.
Directed by Michael Shanks.
Written by Michael Shanks.
Produced by Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mike Cowap, Andrew Mittman, Erik Feig, Max Silva, Julia Hammer, & Tim Headington.
Executive Producers: Lia Buman, Emma Fitzsimons, Micah Green, Sarah Hong, Samie Kim Falvey, Sian McArthur, & Neil Shah.
Main Cast: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey, Jack Kenny, Sunny S. Walia, Karl Richmond, Tom Considine, Melanie Beddie, Sarah Lang, & Rob Brown.
Cinematographer: Germain McMicking.
Composer: Cornel Wilczek.
Production Companies: 30West, Tango Entertainment, Picturestart, 1.21, & Princess Pictures.
Distributor: Neon.
Runtime: 102 minutes.
Rated R.
