Here's a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but inside Together resides a intense examination about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the two stars contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his social circle. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
