Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
