Here's a test for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like standard physical horror, but inside Together exists a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He fears the notion of completely losing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
