We present a dare for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a intense examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating 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 Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a perfect parallel 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. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
