Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like standard biological terror, but inside Together resides a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu at present.
