Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
