Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but inside Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. 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 film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
