We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional body horror, but inside Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
