Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like conventional physical horror, but within Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that come with any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
