We present a dare for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Settle in with your partner and view Together. This 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it could look like typical biological terror, but within Together lies a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars bring a unique chemistry to their roles, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A familiar story element, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking 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 mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a slow burn fright fest, weaving in bits of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something grotesque). Shanks skillfully blends these components neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A significant portion of Together is only the performances of its stars, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the idea of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes one partner or the other the definite antagonist.
The couple face the sort of issues that arise in long-term unions a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “I understand that choice”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is available to watch on Hulu as of this moment.
