Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
