Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, 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 significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
