Consider this a dare for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He fears the concept of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
