Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together lies a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
