Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
