Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that arise in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
