Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together lies a intense examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when the couple transition from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with any relationship over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant 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 turn to your partner and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
