"Together": Michael Shanks’ Surreal Body Horror Unpacks Queer Longing and Codependency

Released in July 2025, "Together" marks a bold turn for director Michael Shanks, plunging viewers into a psychological body horror that uses the grotesque to probe the limits and possibilities of intimacy. The film stars real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, whose move to a remote countryside home unravels their already fragile relationship and exposes them to a supernatural force that literally fuses their bodies together .

For LGBTQ+ viewers, the film’s narrative of transformation and fusion is more than shock or spectacle. It becomes a metaphor for queer longing—the yearning not just for romantic connection but for the creation of new forms of being, beyond binary categories or traditional relationship models. In its chilling climax, Millie and Tim’s desperate attempts to resist or reverse their fusion are foiled as they embrace, slow-dance, and ultimately merge into a single, androgynous person—a moment that evokes both horror and a sense of liberation .

Horror has often served as a coded language for LGBTQ+ audiences, allowing filmmakers to explore taboo desires and anxieties indirectly. "Together" continues this tradition, transforming the genre’s tropes into a meditation on the simultaneous terror and ecstasy of becoming “whole”—with another person, within oneself, or as part of a larger chosen family.

Critics have noted that the film’s depiction of bodily fusion, while grotesque, reflects real struggles with identity and codependency. The story’s supernatural element—an ancient ritual that fuses couples together—serves as an allegory for the ways relationships can dissolve boundaries and force individuals to confront their deepest fears and hopes .

For many in the queer community, the experience of forging one’s identity—particularly in relationships—can feel similarly fraught. The film’s final moments, where Millie and Tim’s parents are greeted by an “androgynous person” who is neither their daughter nor son-in-law but both, gestures toward the possibilities of nonbinary existence and the creation of new kinship structures .

"Together" offers a rare mainstream depiction of androgyny, with its finale presenting a protagonist who is both and neither, echoing queer and trans experiences of selfhood. This transformation is not simply a loss, but also a rebirth—a theme resonant for many LGBTQ+ people who undergo personal metamorphoses in the journey toward authenticity.

Moreover, the film’s focus on isolation and the longing for connection mirrors the challenges faced by queer individuals, particularly those living outside urban centers or estranged from traditional family structures. The rural setting, the mysterious neighbor, and the motif of missing couples evoke both the dangers and the allure of seeking community in unfamiliar spaces .

"Together" has received a generally positive response, with a 7.1/10 rating on IMDb and strong notices for its performances and inventive storytelling . Reviewers have praised Shanks’ willingness to push boundaries, both narratively and visually, and to center questions of identity and relationship in a genre often reluctant to address them directly .

For queer viewers, the film’s refusal to offer easy answers is a virtue—not a flaw. Its portrait of love as a force that can be both destructive and redemptive, terrifying and beautiful, invites audiences to contemplate the risks and rewards of embracing one’s true self, even when it means letting go of familiar forms.

As LGBTQ+ representation in cinema continues to expand, "Together" stands out not just for its visibility, but for its willingness to embrace ambiguity and transformation. It’s a film that doesn’t just queer its characters—it queers the very idea of relationship, identity, and what it means to be “whole.”