Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together resides a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
