Consider this a dare for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Get comfortable with your significant other and watch Together. This 2025 indie hit just made its online premiere on the Hulu service. Outwardly, it could look like standard body horror, but inside Together lies a deep meditation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, an unmarried couple that have remained a couple for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the two stars contribute a particular energy to their portrayals, masterfully depicting both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The story starts when Tim and Millie transition from the urban environment to the country for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a film about physical terror.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While trekking near their country house, a tempest descends, and Millie and Tim fall into an underground cave. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the duo. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past simple connection.
The whole movie is a slow burn fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, disturbing (but never too gross) physical transformations, and genuinely funny interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). The director skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a slowly mounting sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is solely the two lead actors, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and emotional bond is waning due to a lack of intimacy. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his reluctance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
Conversely, Tim senses confinement and isolated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve left the city and distant from his network of friends. He fears the concept of utterly sacrificing his individual identity in another person. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he can’t drive and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie avoids making Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Both characters grapple with the sort of issues that come with any relationship over a long period. Deep down, they continue to care for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and open up at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their relationship.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together represent these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and totally devoting oneself to another person, the allegory avoids being overly obvious or pretentious. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments offer a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the supernatural and the personal serve the other in a mutually beneficial way.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about codependent relationships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ultimately assisted them resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could function as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the finale inspire anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply look at your other half and say, “I’d do that for you”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an test you can embark on right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu at present.
