Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical body horror, but inside Together lies a profound examination about the ways we decide to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together is the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their country house, a storm hits, and the protagonists fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force creates a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a methodically building of scares, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is waning due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He fears the idea of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could potentially serve as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the finale sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply turn to your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
