Here's a dare for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together resides a intense contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story commences when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building fright fest, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
