Here's a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical body horror, but within Together lies a profound meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story commences when the couple move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into 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 new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment 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 senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that come with most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
