Here's a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative starts when the couple transition from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and wraps them up in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his support system. He fears the idea of completely losing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
