We present a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that come with long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
