Consider this a test for long-term couples who appreciate the horror genre: Sit down with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together lies a profound contemplation about our choices in loving each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have been together for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when the couple relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. 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 hiking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together never makes Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. 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 scream at your TV, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
