We present a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, blending bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
