Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature 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 stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions 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 Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
