Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together lies a intense examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent 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 giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
