Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
