We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases 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. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim 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 fears the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie avoids making one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
