We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
