We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard body horror, but inside Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative starts when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
