Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it could look like standard biological terror, but within Together exists a intense examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that come with any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
