We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. 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 storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
