Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that arise in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
