We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). The director weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
