Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something horrific). The director weaves these elements together expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration 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 cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
