Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like standard physical horror, but within Together resides a deep meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple confront the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
