Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career 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 distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
