Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but within Together lies a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his social circle. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Conversely, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
