We present a test for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like standard biological terror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that arise in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
