Consider this a test for long-term couples who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like typical body horror, but inside Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple face the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
