Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple confront the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
