Here's a test for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but beneath Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the country for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making either of his characters 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 one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
