We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor does not come across as overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
