"Together" is a 2025 supernatural body horror film written and directed by Michael Shanks in his directorial debut, starring real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a troubled couple who relocate to the countryside only to encounter a mysterious supernatural force. The film was one of the bigger hits at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and critics have praised it as "a body horror that's as emotionally sticky as it is memorably gnarly" with the authentic chemistry between Brie and Franco adding an extra layer of believability to the bizarre premise. What starts as a relationship drama about codependency quickly transforms into something far more sinister and literal, as the couple finds themselves physically fusing together in increasingly horrifying ways. This meta-horror film puts a unique spin on the body horror genre by exploring themes of codependency and unhealthy relationships through the lens of supernatural terror, creating a viewing experience that's equal parts disturbing, funny, and surprisingly romantic.
The Story
The movie starts with something really creepy. There are these search dogs looking for missing people, and they find a weird underground cave with a pool of water. The dogs drink from it, and then something terrible happens - they start sticking together like they're melting into one dog! It's super gross and scary.
Then we meet Millie and Tim, a couple who have been dating for a long time. Millie teaches kids at a school, and Tim wants to be a musician but isn't very successful. They're moving from the big city to a small countryside town to start fresh. Right away, you can tell they have problems. At their going-away party, Millie asks Tim to marry her in front of everyone, but Tim gets all weird and doesn't answer. It's super awkward and embarrassing for Millie.
When they get to their new house, Tim has these really scary nightmares about his dead parents. His mom used to sleep next to his dad's rotting dead body, which is absolutely horrifying. These dream scenes made me jump out of my seat! Tim is clearly messed up from this trauma, which explains why he's scared of commitment.
One day, Tim and Millie go hiking in the woods near their house when it starts raining hard. They fall into the same cave where the dogs were before - the one with the weird water pool. They decide to camp there overnight since the weather is bad. Tim drinks some of the cave water, even though that's a really gross thing to do.
The next morning, they wake up and their legs are stuck together! They manage to pull apart, but they think it's just from sleeping weird. But then Tim starts having these episodes where his body is pulled toward Millie against his will. It's like a magnet is dragging him to her, and he can't control it.
At Millie's new school, she meets Jamie, another teacher who seems really nice and helpful. He explains that the cave used to be some kind of New Age church before it collapsed. Jamie seems to know a lot about what happened there.
The weird body-pulling gets worse and worse. Tim even gets dragged to Millie's workplace during one of these episodes. Then comes the most embarrassing scene - they have sex in a bathroom stall at the elementary school (which is gross because it's a kids' school), and their private parts get stuck together! They have to painfully force themselves apart, and Jamie catches them. It's mortifying.
As the movie goes on, Tim and Millie's bodies start fusing together more and more. Their arms get stuck together, and they have to use a saw to cut themselves apart - which is incredibly painful and bloody. Every time they separate, the pulling sensation gets stronger.
Meanwhile, we learn more about Tim's messed-up past. His father died, but his mentally ill mother kept his dead body in their bed and slept next to it until it was rotting and smelly. No wonder Tim has issues with relationships!
The big twist comes when Millie visits Jamie's house and discovers the truth. Jamie shows her a video of a wedding ceremony where two men are getting married, but then they literally merge into one person! It turns out Jamie is actually the result of this fusion - he's two people combined into one body. He's wearing two wedding rings because he's both husbands at the same time. The cave water is part of some cult ritual that makes couples fuse together permanently.
Jamie has been secretly giving Millie water from the cave, which is why she started getting affected too. He believes that becoming one person with your partner is the ultimate expression of love, and he wants Tim and Millie to experience this "gift".
Tim goes back to the cave to investigate and finds the missing hikers - but they're a horrifying monster! One person is dead with a knife in their neck, still attached to their living partner. It's nightmare because the man killed himself to try to stop the fusion, leaving his girlfriend stuck to a corpse.
In the climax, Jamie cuts Millie's arm with a special ring, and she starts bleeding to death. Tim saves her by fusing his arm to her wound to stop the bleeding. At this point, they realize they have no choice but to accept their fate.
The movie ends with Tim and Millie deciding to embrace the fusion. They slow dance to the Spice Girls song "2 Become 1" (which is perfect because the title literally describes what's happening) as their bodies merge into one person. The final scene shows their parents coming to visit, and this new combined person - who looks like both Tim and Millie mixed together - answers the door.
My Review - What I Thought About It
This movie completely blew my mind! It's disgusting, scary, funny, and somehow romantic all at the same time. Let me break down what I loved and what bothered me.
The Good Stuff:
The idea behind this movie is brilliant. It takes the normal relationship problem of being too clingy or codependent and turns it into literal body horror. We've all heard people say they want to be "one" with their partner, but this movie shows what that would actually look like - and it's terrifying!
Dave Franco and Alison Brie (who are married in real life) have amazing chemistry. You can tell they really know each other, which makes their relationship feel genuine. When they're fighting or being lovey-dovey, it feels real instead of fake like in many movies.
The scary parts are really well done. Tim's nightmares about his creepy smiling mom made me want to hide under a blanket. The scene where Millie is pressed against the glass door trying to get into Tim's office is super freaky. And don't get me started on that monster couple in the cave - pure nightmare fuel.
The movie is also surprisingly funny. There are moments where I was laughing out loud, especially when Tim is panicking and shouting about "Diazepam" (which is a fancy name for anxiety medication). The humor helps balance out all the gross and scary stuff.
The Bad Stuff:
While I enjoyed the movie, it could have been even better. Sometimes the characters make really dumb decisions that don't make sense. Like, who drinks mysterious cave water? That's just asking for trouble! And having sex in a school bathroom is not only gross but also super inappropriate.
The cult explanation felt a bit rushed. I wanted to know more about why this happens and what the cult's goal really was. Are they trying to create an army of fused people? What's the endgame here?
Some people might be disappointed that it's not as gory as other body horror movies. If you're expecting something as intense as "The Substance" you might find this tame.
The Deeper Meaning:
This movie is really about unhealthy relationships. Tim and Millie are codependent, which means they rely on each other too much and can't function independently. Tim is needy and clingy because of his childhood trauma, while Millie enables this behavior even though it frustrates her.
The body fusion is a metaphor for how some couples lose their individual identities when they get too wrapped up in each other. They literally become one person, which might sound romantic, but the movie shows it's actually kind of horrifying when you think about it.
The ending is particularly interesting because Tim and Millie choose to become one person rather than fight it. Some people might see this as a happy ending about accepting love, while others might see it as a tragic ending about giving up your individuality. I think it's meant to be unsettling either way.
Final Thoughts
"Together" is a really unique movie that mixes horror, comedy, and romance in a way I've never seen before. It's gross enough to make you squirm, scary enough to make you jump, and thoughtful enough to make you think about your own relationships.
The movie works best as a conversation starter about healthy vs. unhealthy relationships. After watching it, you might find yourself thinking about whether you and your partner are too dependent on each other.
If you like horror movies but don't want something too extreme, this is perfect. If you're in a relationship, it might make you appreciate having your own space and identity. And if you're single, it might make you grateful you don't have to worry about literally melting into another person!
It's not perfect, but it's definitely memorable and unlike anything else I've seen this year. Just maybe don't watch it on a first date - unless you want to have a really weird conversation afterward about personal boundaries!
The movie definitely succeeded in making me think twice about drinking from random water sources, and I'll never hear "2 Become 1" by the Spice Girls the same way again. Sometimes the best horror movies are the ones that take something ordinary (like being in love) and twist it into something completely terrifying.
Watch on Amazon Prime or Apple TV+