Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
