Here's a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical story element, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force begins influencing the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director skillfully blends these components neatly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
