Consider this a test for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
