Here's a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a intense examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when the couple transition from the big city to the country for Millie’s job. A commonly used story element, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building fright fest, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory does not come across as overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
