Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together lies a deep examination about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when the couple relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance 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 slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
