Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical physical horror, but inside Together resides a profound examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of codependency and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
