Here's a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Sit down with your loved one and watch Together. This independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut via Hulu. At first glance, it may seem like typical body horror, but beneath Together resides a deep contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring Partnership Complexities
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, partners that have been together for ten years. Married in actuality in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their roles, skillfully embodying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The story begins when Millie and Tim transition from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A familiar plot device, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches end. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and the two tumble into an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the duo. This force compels a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a methodically building of scares, interspersing bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes during something grotesque). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is only the two lead actors, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a lack of intimacy. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He is terrified of the notion of totally forfeiting his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is intensified by the reality he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes Tim or Millie the definite antagonist.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a perfect parallel to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s final act, which won’t be spoiled here, has created disagreement on the story's concluding statement about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. Conversely, a few pairs having disagreements found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the ending 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 look at your other half and say, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an exploration you can experience right now.
Together is streaming on Hulu as of this moment.
