Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like standard biological terror, but beneath Together exists a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building fright fest, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his support system. He fears the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters face the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own reaction could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
