Consider this a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when the couple move from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these anxieties of excessive reliance and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory avoids being clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act 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 see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
