Here's a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story starts when Tim and Millie move 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 deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
