Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like typical body horror, but within Together lies a profound examination about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. 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 walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
