Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical body horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
