We present a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
