Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional body horror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that come with most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
