We present a test for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and stream Together. The 2025 indie hit just made its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together resides a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It features the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a special spark to their portrayals, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the big city to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the conventions end. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While trekking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a emotional and physical gap. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his personal autonomy in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the obvious villain.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that come with most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, comfort one another, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes present a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a strong argument for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners who were in conflict found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending plant anxiety and horror, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, 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 at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu as of this moment.
