Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like conventional physical horror, but beneath Together exists a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have been together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a unique chemistry to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, blending elements of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A large part of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and removed from his social circle. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and share intimately at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
