Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
