Consider this a test for those in enduring partnerships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its launch on a streaming platform on Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical biological terror, but inside Together resides a profound examination about how we choose to love our partners.
A Debut Feature Delving into The Nuances of Love
Together is the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their roles, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The plot starts when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their rural residence, a storm hits, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a mysterious influence takes hold of the couple. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The complete narrative is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something disturbing). The director orchestrates these parts expertly and wraps them up in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively 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 deteriorating due to a distance. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his failing musical ambitions gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his support system. He is terrified of the concept 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 never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
The couple confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They find humor with each other, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these concerns of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the metaphor never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which remains unspoiled, has created disagreement on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. It has been said that unattached audience members have seen the movie as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements 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 conclusion sow anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in one of the characters and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an experiment you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on Hulu's platform now.
