We present a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his social circle. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters face the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
