12 Best Body Horror Movies Like Together

Body horror is a unique sub-genre featuring stories that see human bodies hideously deformed and mutilated. Most often, the grotesque elements serve as an allegory for a deeper theme, and this is true for the 2025 film "Together." A new body horror classic starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, "Together" uses body horror to explore the complicated nature of emotional intimacy.

"Together" revolves around Tim and Millie (Franco and Brie), a couple who've been together for 10 years but are struggling with their relationship. When Tim accepts a new job that will force them to relocate, Millie begins to consider ending things. That is, until a terrifying incident that sees them fall into a sinkhole, after which they begin to notice bizarre changes, with Tim physically drawn to Millie to a point where their bodies begin to merge.

More than just grisly body horror, "Together" has a sly, sardonic edge that makes it clever without being silly. Disgusting, dramatic, and jaw-dropping, "Together" is something wholly unexpected and could very well be your first taste of body horror. If it is, and you want to know what to watch next, this is a list of 12 movies like "Together" for you to queue up. But be warned: These movies aren't for the squeamish.

When it comes to body horror, there's really only one filmmaker whose name is synonymous with the genre: David Cronenberg (even if Reddit thinks the best body horror movie ever isn't by Cronenberg, but by John Carpenter). A man with a singular vision that often resorts to the most macabre and sickeningly grotesque imagery one could ever conjure, Cronenberg practically willed the entire genre into existence with films like "Videodrome" and "Scanners." But when it comes to movies similar to "Together," there are two that you should check out first, starting with his 1986 sci-fi thriller "The Fly."

A grisly remake of a 1950s sci-fi B-movie, "The Fly" is the story of a scientist named Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), who invents a teleportation machine. When he switches it on and tests it on himself, a common housefly inadvertently enters with him, scrambling their DNA together and causing Brundle to slowly transmogrify into a hideous, human-sized fly. That simple description doesn't quite capture the agonizing horror that Cronenberg so deftly navigates, as the Brundlefly slowly loses its humanity. Bubbling flesh and malformed limbs begin shedding their human components in favor of new insect parts. 

Like "Together," the film sees the physical merging of two beings, as the human Brundle and the tiny buzzing fly merge into a single, vomit-inducing terror of a creature. A body horror classic that influenced Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's work on "Candyman," "The Fly" features some of the most nauseating effects ever seen in a major motion picture, particularly for its day.

We could recommend David Cronenberg movies all day if you love body horror, but when it comes to his films that are reminiscent of "Together," the second film we'll nominate for you to watch is a more recent entry, "Crimes of the Future." A science fiction story about a dystopian near-future, the film explores a world where body modification has reached the extremes, as citizens regularly undergo procedures that allow their bodies to adapt to new and different environments.

In this dark future, technology has rapidly expanded to such a degree that it's forced humanity to change with it. As the planet evolves, so have our bodies, thanks to medical science, allowing people to grow new body parts, eliminate old ones, and combine forms in seemingly any manner they please. In this world we meet performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), who is afflicted by "accelerated evolution syndrome," a condition that sees his body spontaneously growing new organs — and he puts his body on display for throngs of enamored audiences.

Arguably Cronenberg's most extreme film — with no humor at all — the body horror guru doesn't hold back, showcasing graphic body mutilation and horrific sex acts that prompted critics to walk out of the theater at an early screening at the Cannes Film Festival. A sickening film, "Crimes of the Future" will leave your jaw on the floor if you can make it to the end.

"The Substance" may become a new classic in the body horror genre with enough time. Like "Together," the film centers on two people who slowly merge into one, but not in the way you might expect. "The Substance" is an exploration of the self, an examination of who we are and what we want out of life, and how obsession can change us.

As much a psychological horror movie as it is a body horror film, "The Substance" stars Demi Moore as aging veteran actress Elizabeth Sparkle. She's getting older, already relegated to an aerobics TV show. After her 50th birthday, she fears her age could mean the end of her career, and when her series is canceled, she becomes desperate enough to experiment with a serum that will supposedly make her young again. Instead of transforming her body, the treatment creates a younger doppelgänger (Margaret Qualley) who literally crawls out of a hole in her back.

Sharing Elizabeth's consciousness, the younger version of herself, named Sue, reignites Elizabeth's acting career and steals the spotlight, creating a bizarre rivalry between them. But as Elizabeth's older body begins to deteriorate from the treatment, she realizes that there may be more consequences than she imagined. It's a stunning horror movie that will be adored by fans of "Together," and it might just be the best film in Demi Moore's career.

Though not quite as frightening an excursion into body merging as "Together," the science fiction horror-thriller "Annihilation" tells a similar story about a group of people who encounter a mystifying force that alters people's bodies. In this case, it's a team of intrepid scientists and explorers, rather than a young, idealistic couple, in a story adapted from the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer.

The movie begins after the disappearance of Kane (Oscar Isaac), a soldier sent on a mission into a strange territory known as "The Shimmer," where the laws of nature seem to have been upended. A year later, Kane returns, but he is forever changed, and his wife Lena (Natalie Portman) wants answers. To get them, she assembles a new team that includes geomorphologist Cassie (Tuva Novotny), physicist Josie (Tessa Thompson), psychologist and lead Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and a paramedic named Anya (Gina Rodriguez). Together, the five women embark on a daring search for Lena's husband to learn more about what's really going on inside the Shimmer — even as its effects begin to grow. But what they find is a horrifying reality where victims within the region are malformed and mutating within their own bodies. 

While the body horror elements aren't the focus of the story, a similar sense of dread creates an eerie atmosphere that fans of "Together" will recognize. The mystery of the Shimmer, and what it's done to those who enter, is a truly mind-bending trip into the bizarre.

In "Together" we meet two lovers who slowly become one, much to their shock and horror. "Possession" is a different take on the same idea, as a married couple endures a horrifying ordeal that sees a bizarre, amorphous creature ooze into being from the body of one of them, eventually taking over the other. It's a disturbing tale that will leave chills down your spine — and your stomach churning.

"Possession" stars Sam Neill as Mark, an intelligence agent living in West Berlin in the early 1980s, who is married to a young woman named Anna (Isabelle Adjani). After she asks for a divorce, however,  Mark is shocked to meet Anna's apparent duplicate, a woman named Helen (Adjani). When Anna begins acting strangely, it leads to the eye-popping discovery of an unearthly creature living in a secret apartment she's been keeping. But when bodies begin to pile up — including a private detective hired by Mark to find out more of what his wife is really up to — we quickly learn that the creature is much more than it seems, and that Anna's recent miscarriage could be the source of all of the recent dreadful incidents.

A lesser-known film, "Possession" is an underrated body horror cult classic. It's the perfect time to check it out, too, as Robert Pattinson recently signed up for a remake from "Smile" director Parker Finn.

If you don't mind a low-budget indie movie from the early '90s, and you found yourself enthralled by "Together," you'll probably find a lot to love about "Body Melt."  The film comes to us by way of Australia, a 1993 body horror favorite with a cast of actors who you have probably never heard of, directed by a filmmaker even less known than the on-screen talent. Nevertheless, like "Together," it's a horror movie that's sure to leave you running for the barf bag.

"Body Melt" takes the story of a mysterious, body-morphing force and flips it on its head, exploring the sinister plan at work to transform innocent people into hideous, inhuman monstrosities. It all happens within a suburban development called Pebbles Court, where the nearby Vimuville health spa has been distributing a new vitamin supplement, ostensibly for the purposes of rejuvenation. But what one poor soul learns is that the rejuvenation is really an experiment by Vimuville that's far more terrifying than a simple health aid. And when the whistleblower turns up dead, the investigation into his death hits a roadblock. The vitamin effects begin to proliferate throughout the community, mutilating and killing all those who take them in increasingly brutal ways.

When your body begins to change during adolescence, it's normal to be confused, but when it changes in an inhuman way, it can be terrifying. Just as we saw in "Together." Like the couple in that film, the protagonist of "Thanatomorphose" begins undergoing her own bodily changes that seem otherworldly, becoming increasingly frightened about what is happening to her. 

Her name is Laura (Kayden Rose), and she's something of an agoraphobic, trapped in a relationship with her sexually aggressive boyfriend, Antoine (Davyd Tousignant). But after an evening together, Laura begins to notice unusual physical effects: her fingernails fall out, and odd colors appear on her body. Before long, her transformation begins to get worse, and disturbing dreams make her nights as unsettling as her days. The appearance of festering wounds, bloody orifices, and rotting flesh lead to her experimenting with a new form of art, creating sculptures out of her own body parts, until all that is left is a person that is hardly recognizable. In body and soul.

Much like "Together," "Thanatomorphose" chronicles an unexplained metamorphosis. But it's also, similarly, an allegory for relationships, just as the transformation in "Together" represents themes of loneliness in couples. 

A stunning independent science fiction masterpiece, "Under the Skin" isn't your traditional body horror film. It doesn't involve the same kinds of bile-burping body horror as most of the films on this list, but it is just as skin-crawling thanks to its dark themes and haunting atmosphere. The 2013 film stars Scarlett Johansson, just one year after she appeared in "The Avengers."

Johansson plays an alien from outer space, but this isn't her true visage — she's simply the latest body the alien has assumed. She's become stranded on Earth and struggles to understand this strange new world and the people who inhabit it. Humans are unlike anything she has ever encountered, but she also needs them to sustain her, hunting and mutilating men she finds on the streets of Scotland. All alone, she finds herself drawn to a lonely man with a physical deformity. The pair find an unusual connection, and through him, she begins to learn more about humanity — its goodness and otherwise.

Much like "Together," "Under the Skin" is a story of love and loss, of loneliness and despair in a downtrodden world, told in a less than literal way. It's a slow, thoughtful, even cerebral sci-fi horror movie that will raise your hair, but not by the usual shock and gore.

Another title that takes its body horror in a unique direction is "The Perfection," a 2018 Netflix original movie starring Allison Williams, Logan Browning, and TV star Steven Weber, who fans will recognize from "Wings" and, more recently, "Chicago Med." Here, Weber gives a striking performance as the domineering Anton, the head of the Bachoff Academy — an elite musical school out of Boston — who takes a pair of young women under his proverbial wing.

After leaving the Academy due to a family tragedy, Charlotte Willmore (Williams) wants to return, and Anton invites her to a special audition in Shanghai. There, Charlotte bonds with Anton's brightest student, Lizzie (Browning), and the two become fast friends. But Charlotte and Lizzie's friendship isn't all it seems, and when Lizzie begins feeling unusual changes inside her and vomits up maggots, it leads to a series of shocking events that culminate in a disturbing revelation about Anton's role at Bachoff. That's a surprise best saved for watching the film yourself.

Be warned, the finale of "The Perfection" is an upsetting one. Nevertheless, it's also thematically similar to "Together," because while there are no two characters who merge physically, there is a pair who come together in an unexpected way that makes for a chilling ending that we're happy to help explain. It just may well leave you breathless.

Should you be looking for something that leans into the sly humor of "Together," there's an indie horror-comedy you should check out called "Kuso," from first-time director Steve Ellison (also known as hit record producer, Flying Lotus). It's also a unique film on our list as it doesn't tell a single story. 2017's "Kuso" is an anthology film with four body horror tales, all set within the same fictional universe.

The world of "Kuso" is a post-apocalyptic near-future where an earthquake has decimated the West Coast of the United States and left survivors mutated in its wake. Each story presents a new set of characters — usually a couple, just like "Together" — who are each dealing with the consequences (and peculiarities) of having their bodies deformed, with hideous changes that we won't spoil here. Some of them are surprisingly plot-important.

A borderline sexual thriller at times, the humor in "Kuso" stems from its off-the-wall situations and casual raunchiness — think "Toxic Avenger" and other Troma (the infamous studio where DC Studio head James Gunn honed his entertaining directorial style) films. Suffice to say, if you want gross-out body horror that mixes "Together" with something like "The Garbage Pail Kids Movie," "Kuso" is it.

Back in the subgenre of schlock b-movie body horror is "From Beyond," a supernatural tale from director Stuart Gordon and inspired by the work of legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Gordon's previous effort, "Re-Animator," nearly made this list, but that's a bit more of a zombie flick than a body horror movie. "From Beyond," however, definitely qualifies, with some of the most outlandish body horror SFX you'll ever see. 

The story opens with Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) claiming to have invented a machine that can allow subjects to see other worlds past our own. When he turns it on himself, Pretorius is seemingly killed when it malfunctions. His assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs, a fan-favorite "Star Trek" guest star who's rarely the same guy twice – including multiple Weyouns), is blamed for his death and put under examination, where it's discovered that his pineal gland is somehow growing. Returning to the machine, Tillinghast and his psychiatrist, Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton), make contact with Pretorius, residing in a different realm of reality. The same process that took Pretorius next mutates Tillinghast, turning him into something more than a man.

A truly grotesque horror classic, "From Beyond" is an exploration of greed, hubris, and the lust for power. Like "Together," it takes the story of body mutilation and uses it to teach us a lesson — this time about the consequences of going too far.

Unless you can't handle subtitles, one of the best movies to watch if you're looking for more body horror is a classic from Japan from the late 1980s. Titled "Tetsuo: The Iron Man," this film is the debut of renowned director Shinya Tsukamoto, and is also the only entry on this list to be a full trilogy.

The film centers on an unnamed "salaryman" — a Japanese term for a salaried white collar worker — who is involved in a hit-and-run accident. Following the incident, the salaryman begins to inexplicably grow small metal parts out of his body, much to his dismay. Before long, his entire body begins to metamorphose into something like a cyborg, with a mess of machine parts consuming his flesh. All the while, he is plagued by unsettling erotic dreams and sexual fantasies that protrude into his waking life. As he continues to become a living machine, with body parts replaced with mechanical analogs, he is contacted by the other person in the hit-and-run with an unusual message, and the two realize they have more in common than their accident.

A captivating film that's considered a classic of Japanese cinema, "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" is one of the scariest Japanese horror movies ever made. Like "Together," it uses body horror to explore the relationship between two people whose connection is otherworldly.