We present a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Get comfortable with your loved one and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like standard physical horror, but within Together lies a profound contemplation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the actors bring a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity begins influencing the pair. This force induces a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts seamlessly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He is terrified of the concept of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in Together avoids making Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the supernatural forces in Together represent these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the symbolism does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for staying single. Conversely, 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 act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is currently playing on Hulu now.
