Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
