Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical biological terror, but inside Together exists a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
