Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Sit down with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard physical horror, but beneath Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches end. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, blending elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, 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 reaction could function as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
