We present a test for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional body horror, but inside Together resides a profound examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
