Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but inside Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A commonly used story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
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 conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
