We present a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
