Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical biological terror, but within Together resides a intense examination about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire 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 look at your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
