Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who are fans of horror films: Get comfortable with your partner and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its online premiere on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical biological terror, but within Together exists a intense examination about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the first full-length movie for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for a decade. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a long-term relationship.
The story starts when Millie and Tim move from the urban environment to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used plot device, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches conclude. Together evolves into as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists discover an underground cave. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity starts to affect the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something grotesque). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts expertly and delivers them in a consistently growing sense of impending doom.
Complex Characterizations
A large part of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his social circle. He fears the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in Together avoids making one partner or the other the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and totally devoting oneself to a partner, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama serve the other symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
