We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple transition from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
