Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
