We present a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy horror films: Settle in with your significant other and stream Together. This 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like standard biological terror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about our choices in loving our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors contribute a particular energy to their characters, skillfully embodying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the big city to the rural area for her career. A commonly used narrative setup, admittedly, but that’s mostly where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their country house, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After spending the night there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a slow burn horror experience, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate manifold depths to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is suffering due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his failing musical ambitions slowly bubbles to the surface.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his support system. He fears the idea of completely losing his sense of self in Millie. This fear is amplified by the reality he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he avoids making either of his characters the definite antagonist.
The couple grapple with the kind of problems that arise in most partnerships after ten years. At their core, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending inspire anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and state, “I’d do that for you”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
