Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like conventional physical horror, but within Together lies a intense meditation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the country for her career. A somewhat stereotypical story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths 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 reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu at present.
