Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but inside Together resides a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
