Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical physical horror, but beneath Together resides a intense contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
