Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
