Consider this a dare for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. At first glance, it might appear like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together resides a profound meditation about our choices in loving each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the country for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that arise in any relationship after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and fully committing to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer 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 either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
