We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like standard body horror, but within Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale sow anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
