Here's a challenge for partners in committed relationships who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and view Together. This independent film success of 2025 recently had its streaming debut on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together exists a profound examination about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for ten years. Having wed in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a long-term relationship.
The story begins when Tim and Millie move from the metropolis to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a film about physical terror.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a mysterious influence begins influencing the pair. This force creates a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a gradually intensifying horror experience, interspersing bits of fever-dream horrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes amidst something grotesque). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Nuanced Portrayals
A great deal of Together is solely the performances of its stars, and they deftly portray manifold depths to the characters’ relationship. Millie's sense of self and sense of connection is waning due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and far away from his social circle. He dreads the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is further exacerbated by the fact he can’t drive and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the kind of problems that are inherent in most partnerships after ten years. Fundamentally, they still love each other. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But below this facade, there’s an persistent undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and fully committing to a partner, the symbolism never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the supernatural and the personal enhance each other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Debated Finale
Together’s final act, which remains unspoiled, has left audiences divided on the story's concluding statement about enmeshed dynamics. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a compelling reason for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film actually helped them reconcile.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could act as a great barometer of how you perceive partnership. Will the finale sow feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a uplifting feeling of optimism? Will you identify in either protagonist and yell at the screen, or simply look at your significant other and utter, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can embark on right now.
Together is streaming on the streaming service Hulu now.
