Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a deep contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director 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 remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the country for her career. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
