Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional physical horror, but within Together lies a intense examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when the couple transition from the big city to the country for her career. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on the streaming service Hulu now.
