Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like standard physical horror, but within Together exists a deep contemplation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for ten years. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars bring a special spark to their characters, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that are inherent in long-term unions after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
