Here's a test for long-term couples who are fans of scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and view Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like conventional physical horror, but inside Together resides a profound contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
An Introductory Film Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a special spark to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when the couple transition from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building of scares, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the idea of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters confront the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them make up.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
