We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
