We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Settle in with your significant other and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like typical physical horror, but beneath Together resides a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for ten years. United in marriage in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a storm hits, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of codependency and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
