Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
