Consider this a test for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Settle in with your significant other and watch Together. The 2025 indie hit has now made its online premiere via Hulu. On the surface, it could look like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a intense examination about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie contribute a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot begins when Tim and Millie relocate from the big city to the rural area for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While hiking near their rural residence, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an subterranean cavern. After being trapped overnight there and eventually escaping, a strange force takes hold of the pair. This force creates a supernatural closeness between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying of scares, blending elements of fever-dream horrors, gross (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and presents them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A large part of Together is exclusively the two lead actors, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and removed from his social circle. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his sense of self in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for transportation.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie refrains from painting Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
The couple face the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They find humor with each other, offer support, and open up at times. But under the surface, there’s an persistent current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the supernatural forces in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and giving oneself over to another person, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which is best experienced firsthand, has created disagreement on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can embark on today.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
