Here's a test for long-term couples who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
