Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together resides a deep examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Tim and Millie transition from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Conversely, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
