Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
