Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but beneath Together exists a profound contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple face the sort of issues that come with long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu now.
