Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your partner and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical body horror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when the couple move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
