Y’know the whole “Would you still love me if I was a worm?” thought experiment? I propose a new one: Stream “Together” (now on Hulu!) with your partner, and then ask if they’d still love you after all of that. I’m a huge horror fan, but I'm also a total wimp when it comes to certain types of gore (if anything sharp gets within spittin’ distance of an eyeball, I am OUT). I couldn’t even make it through the trailer for “Together” without wincing away from its visceral spectacle of co-dependency — how two scared people congeal into one in the most literal sense. All brought to life through IRL married stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie, I might add. It's a nugget of trivia that adds some layers to their performances, enough to help me weather when things get less slimy — and, by extension, less interesting.
If this is your first time hearing about Michael Shanks' directorial debut and you aren't squicked out by body horror, i.e., visual effects engineered to make your skin crawl, stop reading here. "Together" is the kind of watch you're better off going into blind if you have the stomach for it. For those morbidly curious to learn more, read on for why "Together" deserves a spot on your watchlist. While you're at it, check out everything new on Hulu in January (between you and me, there's only one must-watch movie of the bunch).
What is 'Together' about?
“Together” stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple who really should have split by now, a fact that's made painfully clear from the get-go. Long-simmering resentment bubbles over when the couple moves from the big city to the countryside for Millie's job. While out hiking near their home, they fall into an underground cave where a strange, otherworldly force begins screwing with their heads, gently forcing their relationship closer, both in body and mind, like a little kid mashing their Barbie dolls together.
Even after they get out and return home, they're strangely stuck together. Or rather, sticking together now, though tearing their fly paper flesh apart will soon be the least of their worries. Whatever "It Follows" style curse they've unleashed is slow but relentless as "Together" descends into a slow burn of scares, a cocktail of nightmare fuel, gag-inducing body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue that pries a laugh out of you despite it all. You know where this unholy union is going, and you can't look away.
The visual effects serve the direct purpose of reinforcing the movie's overall theme in a way that audiences can’t miss. Relationships are messy and uncomfortable, a delirium that can feel impossible to separate from, even when everyone but you can clearly see the ship is sinking. At times, this can feel a little heavy-handed, but overall, the themes come across artfully.
"Together" is gratuitous in every sense of the word. For 92 minutes, we watch and try not to retch as an unholy magnetism propels two people who are the absolute WORST for each other toward a union neither wants, but they can’t seem to escape each other’s orbit. It’s a visceral spectacle of doomed romance and the kind of squelching, old-school Hollywood body horror that I would have loved to see more of in this year’s disappointing “Wolf Man” revival.
I really didn't need to see all that
Art is vulnerable and messy and, in the case of “Together,” very, very sticky. Like “Sinners,” my favorite movie of 2025, “Together” falls somewhere between horror and romance. Only its supernatural scares are significantly harder to stomach.
I initially held off on seeing “Together” in theaters. I’ve never fainted before, but if anything was gonna do it, this seemed to fit the bill. But I kept hearing it recommended in the same breath as “Sinners” — and by friends with opinions on movies I respect, no less!
When I saw “Together” landed on Hulu on New Year’s Eve, I figured it was time to put on my big girl pants and watch it. I just made sure to watch "Together" on an empty stomach. If all else failed and the ick factor threatened to send my guts into orbit, I could always take off my glasses to admire their congealing relationship through blessedly nearsighted eyes.
The last 30 minutes or so, I watched like this in FD (fuzzy definition). I assume the effects look just as visceral and skin-crawling as they do throughout the rest of the movie, but I'll have to take my husband's word for it. For the record, his answer: "Uh...sure? Now, can I get back to playing World of Tanks?"
Stream 'Together' on Hulu now
I'm not sure whether “warts and all” covers getting cursed to live through a “Human Centipede”-like horror movie scenario together, but now I sure do know what that looks like. And that's something you can't unsee — trust me, I've tried! I won't be watching "Together" again anytime soon, but I'm glad I did. It was an experience, one I look forward to commiserating with others over in the future. That kind of shared morbid fascination that grips the zeitgeist every decade or so.
I'm far from the only one telling people to see this hauntingly beautiful horror movie. Just look at "Together's" 90% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, an impressive feat given how few horror movies score that high. Chief film critic of The Times, Kevin Maher, called it a "wickedly effective horror satire." Writing for Empire Magazine, Harry Stainer described it as "a modern love story with a dash of Cronenberg for good measure — a brutal portrait of messy, intense long-term love. Warts, blood, bones and all."
Other critics weren't quite as sold, but still found the movie's grotesquely realized themes fascinating to watch unfold. "Together tends to fiddle with familiar tropes, and can be predictable in its broader strokes," wrote Decider's John Serba. "But just because you know The Scene is coming doesn’t mean you’ll get over it anytime soon."
Still not sold? Check out our round-up of the best new movies on streaming this week for even more recommendations on what to watch next.
Stream "Together" on Hulu now
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