Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical physical horror, but beneath Together lies a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
