Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical biological terror, but beneath Together exists a profound meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together represents the introductory feature for director Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have been together for a decade. Married in real life in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the rural area for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together transforms into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the duo. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in elements of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in his partner. This fear is intensified by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in Together refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the type of challenges that arise in most partnerships over a long period. At their core, they still love each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of excessive reliance and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor never feels clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform at present.
