Here's a dare for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it could look like standard biological terror, but within Together resides a profound meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the countryside for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an underground cave. After being trapped overnight there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending moments of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray countless layers to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his struggling artistic pursuits slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and distant from his support system. He fears the notion of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the fact he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they continue to care for each other. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their future together.
Allegory and Meaning
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ultimately assisted them make up.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply look at your partner and say, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
