We present a test for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for a decade. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors bring a special spark to their roles, expertly portraying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story commences when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their new home, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a gradually swelling aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and far away from his support system. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the fact he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow 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 other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
