Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard physical horror, but within Together exists a intense examination about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features 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. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that come with most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
