Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together lies a intense examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the country for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
