Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional physical horror, but inside Together lies a profound contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The complete narrative is a slow burn fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
