Consider this a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and stream Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it might appear like conventional body horror, but inside Together resides a deep contemplation about the ways we decide to love our partners.
An Introductory Film Investigating Partnership Complexities
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a unique chemistry to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple transition from the metropolis to the countryside for her career. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s largely where the conventions conclude. Together becomes as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence takes hold of the pair. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a slow burn horror experience, weaving in elements of hallucinatory nightmares, gross (but tastefully done) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). Michael Shanks orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his struggling artistic pursuits gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the concept of totally forfeiting his individual identity in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for transportation.
The film's most intelligent aspect is that he refrains from painting either of his characters the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the sort of issues that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Deep down, they have affection for each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their relationship.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these concerns of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory does not come across as clumsy or pretentious. Instead, these more disturbing, unsettling scenes offer a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that single viewers have seen the movie as a compelling reason for staying single. On the other hand, certain partners having disagreements found that the film actually helped them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a telling indicator of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your significant other and utter, “I understand that choice”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an exploration you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
