We present a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He dreads the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that come with long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
