Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation 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 Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
