Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical biological terror, but beneath Together lies a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his network of friends. He fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Deep down, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
