Together (2025) review – A romantic body horror for couples

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today, we are taking a look at the new romantic-body-horror from Michael Shanks – Together (2025).

Big time names for a fairly small time director

I was quite surprised to see the a-list casting for this movie. Shanks isn’t exactly what you would call a prolific or experienced director. With that being said, it is something of a surprise that he managed to snag two fairly big Hollywood names for his feature length debut.

Real life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie star as a pair of strained lovers who decide to move to the countryside to fix their flagging relationship. Little do they realise that an encounter with a strange substance in a cave will soon have them becoming closer than they ever could have imagined.

Before we begin, we have covered this movie’s ending if you need some explanations on what actually happened. Simply click the link to check out our Together Ending Explained article but remember that, unlike this review, the ending explained contains spoilers.

A romantic… body-horror?

Franco and Brie share producer credits on Together but I am fairly sure these were given out in cereal boxes or something. There’s tons of them listed. It does feel like this is a project that is close the couple’s heart, though. Especially if you see the little opening message they included on early releases. Franco does have some experience in the horror genre, too.

“It’s that mix of the two sub-genres that actually serves to set Together apart from other genre films. It’s a weird mix but it most definitely works.”

Franco directed the voyeuristic horror film The Rental back in 2020. That was a whole different affair from this romantic body-horror movie, though. It’s that mix of the two sub-genres that actually serves to set Together apart from other genre films. It’s a weird mix but it most definitely works.

Body horror immediately conjures up images of grotesque mutations, surgical procedures, and horrifying things going wrong with the human body. It’s almost difficult to see where the whole romance thing fits in.

Well, to clear things up a little, it is in the same way that every other horror movie featuring two seemingly disparate sub-genres fits together. By using metaphorical monsters and allegorical depictions of horror. Only, this time it actually works and doesn’t feel completely derivative.

It’s a romance movie with some horrific imagery

At its core, Together is a romance movie but it strays quite far from the usual norm. It’s an atypical story of a middle-aged couple experiencing issues centred around self identity, co-dependency, and commitment. This really isn’t a case of star-crossed lovers and unbridled passion. It’s infinitely more relatable for many people.

“It has a distinct message that commitment means losing some of yourself and becoming one with the person you are marrying.”

The portrayal of love is more mature in as much as it isn’t completely dependent on effusive acts of passion and fairy tale bullshit. It also keys in on some of the situations many 30+ people find themselves in. Unable to break away because they fear what the future brings. This is a couple that has been together far too long to be going through the relationship problems that they are going through.

The way that Together explores these ideas is pretty remedial. But it does afford you a chance to take something different from it depending on your perspective. It has a distinct message that commitment means losing some of yourself and becoming one with the person you are marrying. How you view that will shape how the story resonates with you.

Naturally, it is all done through a horror lens and that’s what makes the, let’s be honest, played out and formulaic love story very watchable. God knows I couldn’t have sat through an entire movie’s worth of Franco and Brie necking each other like they are still teens if it wasn’t for the gruesome body horror on display here.

Earning it’s praise

I am seeing a lot of effusive praise for Together and it’s easy to understand. Some of the more horror focused moments work tremendously well, the story is very simple, and it is fairly easy to sympathise with the couple’s particular issues.

There are quite a lot of moments that will elicit a few laughs and the couple have decent chemistry. Acting is strong, throughout, as well. I am still surprised that Franco doesn’t make me immediately gag anymore after how awful he was in Scrubs. He has grown as an actor, a lot.

Direction is solid and you wouldn’t guess this was Shanks’ feature length debut. Whereas some of his ideas don’t work, there’s a lot of nice visual touches that really do.

The horror aspect is very effective while also being very deliberately structured to support the film’s overriding message regarding commitment and co-dependency. Some of the body-horror stuff is suitably wince inducing. There are parts here and there that are genuinely quite nasty. The special effects stand out, particularly as the couple begin to fuse. Let’s put it this way, you will be gritting your teeth when a knife gets pulled out thanks to the obvious intention.

It’s not a full blown horror movie

This is a film aimed at couples who might only watch horror on rare occasions. You aren’t going to find gory scenes that really push the envelope or too many scares. For a body-horror, it can be rather safe and tame. Certain moments seem like they are going to be genuinely gruesome only for them to take place off-screen. Still, sometimes the imagination is the best conjurer of terrifying imagery.

“This is a film aimed at couples who might only watch horror on rare occasions. You aren’t going to find gory scenes that really push the envelope.”

If you are not a fan of romantic horror, you might want to skip Together entirely. It is squarely aimed at people who enjoy and relate to this filmmaking medium. The romance takes centre stage and the conflicts that drive the plot along are all rooted in real life relationship issues that many couples will face.

The repetitive cycle of the pair “having a minor falling out, kissing nosily, having a minor falling out, having sex in a small toilet cubicle, rinse and repeat“, gets old pretty fast. 2025 has been a real revival for romantic-horror and it’s already getting pretty old, for me. My fiancée and I watch horror for horror, but, oh well!

It’s probably worth mentioning that the pacing feels a bit odd, here. The story really drags its feet for the majority of the film before racing towards a conclusion. It kind of left me feeling like it was stuck in the mud, for awhile. The story wants to get going but simply can’t. It is too constrained by the need to elaborate on the couple’s turmoil.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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