Consider this a challenge for long-term couples who are fans of the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a profound contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with long-term unions over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu now.
