Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
