Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together resides a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
