Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but inside Together exists a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director 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 ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple move from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that arise in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending 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 turn to your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
