We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a intense meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
