Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. The critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together lies a profound contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in real life in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The plot begins when Millie and Tim move from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, interspersing elements of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career inexorably rises.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the idea of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor avoids being clumsy or self-important. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel 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 left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that single viewers have seen the movie as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the conclusion sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and say, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
