Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The story commences when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in his partner. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, 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 compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
