Consider this a test for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when the couple relocate from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
