We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical body horror, but beneath Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He dreads the notion of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to 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 finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
