We present a test for long-term couples who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners 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 response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
