We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when the couple transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths 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 hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
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 ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
