Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but inside Together resides a profound meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
