We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional biological terror, but within Together lies a deep examination about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
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 feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.