Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a intense contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple move from the metropolis to the country for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He fears the concept of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the kind of problems that arise in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
