Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical body horror, but within Together lies a intense examination about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when the couple move from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
