Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a strange force starts to affect the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the finale plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
