Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of the horror genre: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie just made its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like standard physical horror, but beneath Together exists a deep examination about the ways we decide to love each other.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have remained a couple for ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story commences when the couple move from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an underground cave. After spending the night there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes far beyond simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly 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 countless layers to the characters’ relationship. Millie’s confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and removed from his network of friends. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together refrains from painting Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie face the kind of problems that are inherent in any relationship a decade in. Fundamentally, they still love one another. They share moments of joy, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them reconcile.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own interpretation could act as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is streaming on Hulu at present.
