We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical body horror, but inside Together resides a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
