Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together lies a intense meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the couple. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple face the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
