Here's a test for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
