Here's a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions cease. 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 country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
