We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but inside Together lies a profound examination about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when the couple move from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together evolves 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 country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that come with any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
