Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but inside Together lies a deep contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force starts to affect the couple. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
