We present a dare for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense meditation about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple transition from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
