Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
