Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of the horror genre: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like conventional biological terror, but beneath Together lies a intense examination about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a special spark to their roles, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The story begins when Millie and Tim relocate from the big city to the countryside for Millie’s job. A commonly used plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together transforms into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their country house, a storm hits, and the two discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity starts to affect the pair. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes well past simple connection.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. At their core, they still love each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these fears of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the metaphor does not come across as overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes provide a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, certain partners experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and feel frustration, or simply look at your partner and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
