Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard physical horror, but within Together lies a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and distant from his social circle. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple face the sort of issues that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
