We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
