Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a profound examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The story starts when the couple transition from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
