Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie move 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 conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
