Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical physical horror, but inside Together resides a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie transition from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
