Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but inside Together exists a profound contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when Millie and Tim transition from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He fears the notion of completely losing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
