Here's a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your partner and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like typical biological terror, but beneath Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the country for professional reasons. A familiar story element, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a mysterious influence starts to affect the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, weaving in elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
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 confidence and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he lacks a driver's license and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple face the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to another person, the metaphor avoids being overly obvious or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
