Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 recently had its launch on a streaming platform via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but within Together resides a intense contemplation about the ways we decide to love each other.
A Debut Feature Investigating The Nuances of Love
Together represents the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, Franco and Brie infuse a particular energy to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when the couple move from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical plot device, sure, but that’s primarily where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a supernatural entity begins influencing the couple. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components seamlessly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and distant from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie face the type of challenges that come with most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the symbolism avoids being hamfisted or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the horror and the drama enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have understood the narrative as a strong argument for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could function as a revealing measure of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion inspire anxiety and horror, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you identify in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply look at your other half and state, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform now.
