Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together lies a deep contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
