Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but within Together lies a deep examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. United in marriage in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
