Here's a dare for long-term couples who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
