Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical body horror, but inside Together exists a deep meditation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something disturbing). Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He fears the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
The couple face the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Conversely, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
