Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical body horror, but beneath Together exists a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building horror experience, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality 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 definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
