Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and presents them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering 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.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that arise in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
