Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your loved one and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. On the surface, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but within Together resides a profound examination about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two fall into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, weaving in bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to chase only his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation 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 identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform at present.
