Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
