Consider this a dare for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. The independent film success of 2025 just made its online premiere on Hulu. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional body horror, but within Together resides a intense meditation about how we choose to love one another.
An Introductory Film Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple named Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have remained a couple for a decade. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a long-term relationship.
The narrative commences when Millie and Tim relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for her career. A commonly used story element, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While walking near their country house, a violent storm occurs, and the protagonists tumble into an hole in the earth. After a night spent there and managing to escape, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but never too gross) biological grotesqueries, and surprisingly comedic dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and delivers them in a slowly mounting aura of dread.
Complex Characterizations
A great deal of Together is only the two lead actors, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie’s confidence and sense of connection is suffering due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve moved to the country and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for transportation.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie never makes either of his characters the definite antagonist.
Both characters face the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Deep down, they still love one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the supernatural forces in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels overly obvious or heavy-handed. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a perfect parallel to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal work together in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have understood the narrative as a compelling reason for remaining unattached. On the other hand, some couples experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Whether you’re single or coupled up, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you think about commitment. Will the conclusion sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in Tim or Millie and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can undertake today.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu as of this moment.
