We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical physical horror, but inside Together resides a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple face the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway 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 actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
