Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical physical horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for a decade. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the notion of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together symbolize these fears of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
