Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together lies a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic 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 subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
