Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions conclude. Together becomes 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 violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason 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 intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
