We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
