We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like standard physical horror, but inside Together exists a profound meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the first full-length movie for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors contribute a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative begins when Millie and Tim move from the big city to the rural area for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the conventions cease. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn of scares, interspersing moments of fever-dream horrors, disturbing (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his sense of self in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect in this movie never makes one partner or the other the obvious villain.
The couple face the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of excessive reliance and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a brilliant analogue to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama work together in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a strong argument for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your significant other and state, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
