We present a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. 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 in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
