Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together resides a intense contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple transition from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, 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 movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for remaining unattached. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu at present.
