Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but inside Together resides a profound contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He dreads the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
