Here's a test for long-term couples who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
