Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
