Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard physical horror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, 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 other half and say, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
