We present 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 online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when the couple move from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
